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LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


PRESENTED  BY 
MRS.  WILLIAM  GLASSFORD 


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CLAUDINE   IN   LA  PALFERINE'S  ATTIC 
{/t  Prince  of  Bohemia.) 


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copyright 

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GEORGE   BARRIE'S  SO^S 


lAlUlAHV 


*^'' 'sANTA  BAHBAUA 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/civilserviGegaud08balziala 


TO  THE  COMTESSE  SERAFINA  SAN  SEVERWO, 
NEE  PORCIA 

Being  obliged  to  read  everything  in  order  to  avoid 
repetition,  I  have  lately  skimmed  through  three 
hundred  stories, — all  more  or  less  humorous, — of  il 
Bandello,  a  writer  of  the  XVI.  century,  who  is  little 
known  in  France.  His  entire  works  were  last  pub- 
lished in  Florence  in  the  compact  edition  of  Con- 
teurs  italiens;  your  name  as  well  as  that  of  the 
Comte,  brings  you  as  vividly  before  me  as  though 
you  were  here  in  reality;  Madame,  1  was  looking 
over  the  original  text  of  //  Bandello  for  the  first 
time,  and  I  found,  not  without  surprise,  that  each 
story,  although  it  might  be  only  five  pages  long, 
was  dedicated  by  a  familiar  letter  to  the  kings, 
queens,  and  most  brilliant  personages  of  the  times, 
among  whom  may  be  noted  the  nobles  of  Milan,  of 
Piedmont,  which  was  the  native  land  of  //  Bandello, 
of  Florence  and  of  Genoa.  This  is  to  say  the  Dol- 
cini  of  Mantua,  the  San  Severini  of  Crema,  the 
Visconti  of  Milan,  the  Guidoboni  of  Tortona,  the 
Sforza,  the  Doria,  the  Fregose,  the  Dante  Alighieri 
— one  of  whom  is  still  living — the  Frascator,  Queen 
Marguerite  of  France,  the  Emperor  of  Germany,  the 
King  of  Bohemia,  Maximilian,  Archduke  of  Austria, 
the  Medici,  the  Sauli,  Pallavicini,  Bentivoglio  of 

(3) 


4  DEDICATION 

Bologna,  Soderini,  Colonna,  Scaliger,  the  Cardone 
of  Spain.  In  France,  the  Marigny,  Anne  de  Po- 
lignac,  Princesse  de  Marsillac  and  Comtesse  de 
Rochefoucauld,  Cardinal  d'Armagnac,  the  Bishop 
of  Cahors,  in  fact  all  the  great  people  of  the  times, 
were  happy  and  flattered  by  their  correspondence 
with  the  successor  of  Boccaccio.  I  also  saw  how 
much  nobility  of  character  il  Bandello  possessed. 
If  he  has  adorned  his  work  with  these  illustrious 
names,  he  has  not  been  forgetful  of  the  interests  of 
his  personal  friends.  After  the  Signora  Gallerana, 
Comtesse  de  Bergamo,  comes  the  physician  to  whom 
he  dedicated  his  story  of  Romeo  and  Juliet,  after 
the  Signora  Malta  Magnifica  Hipolita  Visconti  ed 
Atellana,  comes  the  simple  captain  of  light  cavalry, 
Livio  Liviano,  after  the  Due  d'Orleans  comes  a 
preacher;  after  a  Riario,  comes  Messer  Magnifica 
Girolamo  Ungaro,  Mercante  lucchese,  a  virtuous 
man  of  whom  he  recounts  how  un  gentiluomo 
navarese  sposa  una  cJie  era  sma  sorella  e  figlinola, 
nan  la  sapenda,  a  subject  sent  to  him  by  the  Queen 
of  Navarre.  I  thought  that  I  could, — like  //  Bandello, 
— place  one  of  my  tales  under  the  patronage  of  una 
virtuosa,  gentillissima,  illustrissima  contessa,  Sera- 
fma  San  Severino,  and  tell  her  truths  which  might 
be  mistaken  for  flatteries.  Why  not  acknowledge 
how  proud  I  am  to  testify  here  and  elsewhere  that 
to-day  as  well  as  in  the  XVI.  century,  writers,  irre- 
spective of  their  contemporaries,  are  recompensed 
for  calumnies,  injuries,  and  bitter  criticisms  by  the 
beautiful  and  noble  friendships  whose  support  help 


DEDICATION  5 

to  vanquish  the  ennuis  of  a  literary  career?  Paris, 
the  brain  of  the  world,  has  pleased  you  so  much  in 
consequence  of  the  continual  fluctuation  of  its  wit 
It  has  been  so  well  understood  by  the  Venetian 
delicacy  of  your  intelligence;  you  have  so  well 
loved  the  rich  salon  of  Gerard  which  we  have  lost, 
and  where  were  to  be  seen,  as  in  the  work  of  il 
Bandello,  European  illustrations  of  this  quarter  of  the 
century;  then  the  brilliant  f^tes,  the  enchanted 
inaugurations  which  this  grand  and  dangerous  siren 
ordains  have  also  greatly  astonished  you ;  you  have 
expressed  your  opinions  so  naively  that,  without 
doubt,  you  will  take  under  your  patronage  the 
description  of  a  world  which  you  could  not  know, 
but  which,  nevertheless,  does  not  lack  originality. 
I  would  have  preferred  having  some  beautiful  poetry 
to  offer  you,  to  you  who  have  as  much  poetry  in 
your  soul  and  in  your  heart  as  your  person  expresses, 
but  if  a  poor  prose  writer  can  only  give  what  he 
has,  perhaps  he  will  be  able  to  redeem  in  your  eyes 
the  mediocrity  of  the  offering  by  the  respectful 
homage  of,  one  of  those  profound  and  sincere  admira- 
tions which  you  inspire. 

De  Balzac. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 


In  Paris,  where  studious  and  thoughtful  men  bear 
some  resemblance  to  each  other  in  consequence  of 
their  living  in  the  same  environment,  you  have  no 
doubt  met  several  persons  resembling  Monsieur 
Rabourdin,  whom  this  story  introduces.  He  was  at 
this  time  head  clerk  in  one  of  the  most  important 
departments.  He  was  a  man  forty  years  of  age,  his 
hair  was  a  pretty  shade  of  gray, — which  women 
really  sometimes  admire, — and  served  to  soften  his 
sad  face.  His  eyes  were  blue  and  full  of  fire,  his 
complexion  still  clear,  but  red  and  disfigured  by 
several  very  angry  blotches.  He  had  a  good  fore- 
head and  a  Louis  XV.  nose,  a  serious  mouth,  a  tall 
figure,  thin  or  rather  wasted  like  that  of  a  man 
recovering  from  an  illness.  In  fact  his  appearance 
was  a  cross  between  the  laziness  of  a  loiterer  and 
the  thoughtful ness  of  a  very  busy  man.  If  this 
description  gives  an  idea  of  his  character,  his  dress 
will  perhaps  contribute  to  bring  it  out  in  greater 
relief.  Rabourdin  usually  wore  a  blue  coat,  a 
white  cravat,  a  vest  crossed  ^  la  Robespierre,  black 
trousers  without  straps,  gray  silk  stockings  and  low 
(7) 


8  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

shoes.  After  having  been  shaved,  he  partook  of  a 
cup  of  coffee  at  eight  every  morning,  and  then  went 
out,  regularly  as  a  clock,  and  walked  through  the 
same  streets  on  his  way  to  the  department  He 
was  so  cleanly  and  neatly  dressed  that  he  could 
have  been  very  easily  mistaken  for  an  Englishman 
on  the  way  to  his  embassy.  From  these,  his  chief 
characteristics,  you  would  imagine  him  the  father 
of  a  family  harassed  by  annoyances  in  the  midst  of 
his  household,  or  worried  by  the  monotony  of  the 
department,  but  at  the  same  time  enough  of  a  phil- 
osopher to  take  life  as  it  is;  an  honest  man  loving 
his  country  and  serving  it,  without  hiding  from 
himself  the  obstacles  to  be  met  with  in  wishing  to 
do  well ;  prudent  because  he  understood  men ;  ex- 
ceedingly polite  to  women,  because  he  expected 
nothing  from  them;  in  fact  a  man  of  great  acquire- 
ments, affable  to  his  inferiors,  holding  his  equals  at 
a  great  distance,  and  carrying  himself  with  great 
dignity  toward  his  superiors.  At  the  time  when 
this  story  begins,  you  would  have  remarked  that  he 
had  the  cold,  resigned  air  of  a  man  wno  had  buried 
the  illusions  of  youth,  who  had  renounced  his  cher- 
ished ambitions,  you  would  have  recognized  a  dis- 
couraged man,  yet  one  who  had  not  lost  his  interest 
in  life,  and  one  who  still  persevered  in  his  original 
plans,  more  in  order  to  employ  his  mind  than  in  the 
hopes  of  a  doubtful  triumph.  He  had  not  even  one 
decoration,  and  he  accused  himself  of  weakness  in 
having  worn  that  of  the  Fleur  de  lis  during  the 
early  days  of  the  Restoration. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  $ 

The  life  of  this  man  presented  mysterious  peculi- 
arities. He  had  never  known  his  father.  His 
mother  was  a  woman  devoted  to  luxury,  always 
stylishly  dressed  and  always  in  holiday  mood.  She 
had  a  rich  equipage.  Her  beauty  seemed  marvel- 
ous as  he  remembered  her,  although  he  rarely  saw 
her.  She  left  him  scarcely  anything,  but  she  gave 
him  that  very  trivial  and  incomplete  education 
which  produces  high  ambition,  but  little  ability. 
At  sixteen  years  of  age,  some  days  before  his 
mother's  death,  he  was  taken  from  the  Lycee  Napo- 
leon to  become  a  supernumerary  in  an  office,  in 
which  some  unknown  benefactor  had  obtained  him 
a  footing.  When  twenty-two  years  of  age  Rabour- 
din  was  first-assistant,  and  at  twenty-five  he  be- 
came the  principal.  Since  that  time  the  hand  which 
helped  the  boy  on  in  the  world  only  made  itself  felt 
on  one  occasion ;  this  unseen  hand  led  him,  a  poor 
boy,  to  the  house  of  Monsieur  Leprince,  an  elderly 
appraiser,  a  widower,  who  was  said  to  be  very  rich 
and  to  have  an  only  daughter.  Xavier  Rabourdin 
fell  desperately  in  love  with  Miss  Celestine  Leprince, 
who  was  at  that  time  seventeen  years  of  age,  and 
who  had  the  expectation  of  having  a  marriage  por- 
tion of  two  hundred  thousand  francs.  This  young 
woman,  who  was  carefully  brought  up  by  her  mother, 
an  artist,  from  whom  she  inherited  all  her  talents, 
was  calculated  to  attract  the  attention  of  men  in  the 
highest  positions  in  life.  She  was  large,  beautiful 
and  exceedingly  well-formed,  spoke  several  lan- 
guages and  had  a  slight  knowledge  of  science,  a 


*i. 


10  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

dangerous  acquisition  which  requires  skilful  man- 
agement on  the  part  of  a  woman  to  avoid  becoming 
pedantic.  The  mother,  blinded  by  misdirected  ten- 
derness, had  given  her  daughter  too  great  hopes  for 
her  future.  According  to  her,  a  duke,  an  ambassa- 
dor, a  marshal  of  France,  or  a  secretary  of  state 
alone  could  give  her  Celestine  her  proper  place  in 
society.  This  young  girl  had  also  the  manners, 
the  speech,  the  appearance  of  fashionable  society. 
Her  toilet  was  richer  and  more  costly  than  was 
suitable  for  an  unmarried  woman.  She  had  every- 
thing, so  that  there  was  nothing  left  for  a  husband 
to  give  her,  but  happiness.  And  yet  her  mother, 
who  died  a  year  after  the  marriage  of  her  daughter, 
had  petted  her  so  that  the  lover  had  no  easy  task  in 
pleasing  her.  How  much  firmness  would  be  needed 
to  control  such  a  woman !  The  bourgeois  became 
alarmed  and  retired.  Xavier,  orphan  as  he  was, 
without  money  except  what  he  earned  in  his  posi- 
tion as  head  man  in  the  office,  was  proposed  by 
Monsieur  Leprince  to  Celestine  as  a  suitor,  but  she 
resisted  for  some  time.  Mademoiselle  Leprince  had 
no  objection  to  this  suitor;  he  was  young,  very 
'much  in  love  with  her,  and  quite  fine  looking,  but 
she  hated  the  name  of  Madame  Rabourdin.  Her 
father  told  her  that  he  was  of  the  stock  of  which 
secretaries  of  state  are  made.  To  this  Celestine 
replied  that  a  man  with  the  name  of  Rabourdin  could 
never  amount  to  anything  under  the  government 
of  the  Bourbons,  etc.,  etc.  Her  father,  finding  him- 
self hard  pressed,  made  the  great  mistake  of  stating 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  II 

to  his  daughter  that  her  future  husband  would  be 
Rabourdin  with  a  title,  even  before  the  age  required 
to  enter  the  Chamber;  that  Xavier  ought  soon  to 
be  maitre  des  requites  and  secretary  general  of  the 
department  in  which  he  was  engaged.  By  these 
two  stepping-stones  this  young  man  would  attain  to 
the  higher  places  of  the  administration.  He  would 
become  rich  and  possess  a  name  transmitted  to  him 
by  a  certain  will,  known  to  him.  The  marriage 
was  consummated. 

Rabourdin  and  his  wife  dreamed  of  the  mysterious 
power  and  the  promotion  suggested  by  the  old  ap- 
praiser. Carried  away  by  the  buoyant  spirits  and 
carelessness  in  money  matters,  characteristic  of 
young  married  people  who  are  greatly  in  love.  Mon- 
sieur and  Madame  Rabourdin  spent — during  the 
first  five  years  of  their  married  life — nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  francs  of  their  capital.  Celes- 
tine,  naturally  alarmed  that  her  husband  had  not 
been  promoted,  wished  to  take  the  hundred  thousand 
francs  which  remained  of  her  marriage  portion  and 
invest  it  in  land.  Such  an  investment  would  bring 
but  little  income,  but  at  some  future  day  they  would 
feel  recompensed  for  all  their  wise  economies  by 
inheriting  the  estate  of  Monsieur  Leprince.  When 
the  elderly  appraiser  saw  his  son-in-law  deprived 
of  his  patron,  he  tried,  out  of  love  for  his  daughter, 
to  repair  this  loss, — which  they  had  endeavored  to 
conceal, — by  risking  a  part  of  his  fortune  in  a  spec- 
ulation which  offered  very  advantageous  induce- 
ments; but  the  poor  man  injured  by  the  failure  of 


12  THE    CIVIL    SERVICE 

the  firm  of  Nucingen,  died  of  grief,  leaving  only  ten 
beautiful  pictures  which  ornamented  his  daughter's 
salon,  and  some  antique  furniture  that  she  put  in 
her  garret  After  eight  years  of  waiting  in  vain 
Madame  Rabourdin  was  at  last  convinced  that  the 
paternal  protector  of  her  husband  must  have  died 
suddenly,  and  that  his  will  was  either  suppressed 
or  lost  Two  years  before  the  death  of  Leprince  the 
place  of  head  of  division  having  become  vacant,  had 
been  given  to  a  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re,  a  rela- 
tive of  an  influential  deputy  of  the  Right,  made  min- 
ister in  1823.  This  was  enough  to  tempt  him  to 
leave  his  position.  But  how  could  Rabourdin  give 
up  eight  thousand  francs  of  salary  voluntarily, 
when  he  had  been  accustomed  to  spend  that  sum  on 
his  household,  and  which  formed  three-quarters  of 
his  income?  Besides  after  a  few  more  years  of 
patience,  would  he  not  have  the  right  to  a  pension  ? 
What  a  fall  for  a  woman  whose  great  pretensions 
in  early  life  had  some  foundation,  and  who  in  addi- 
tion was  thought  to  be  a  superior  woman ! 

Madame  Rabourdin  fulfilled  the  expectation  which 
she  gave  as  Mademoiselle  Leprince.  She  possessed 
elements  of  an  apparent  superiority  which  pleases 
the  world.  She  was  so  well  educated  that  she  could 
address  every  one  in  his  own  language.  She  really 
was  talented,  she  showed  a  high  and  independent 
spirit;  her  conversation  was  captivating  in  conse- 
quence of  the  variety  of  subjects  she  could  discuss, 
as  well  as  for  her  original  ideas.  These  qualities, 
useful  and  appropriate  ia  a  sovereign,  or  in  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 3 

wife  of  an  ambassador,  were  not  very  useful  in 
housekeeping,  where  everything  is  commonplace. 
People  who  are  gifted  speakers  need  an  audience, 
their  love  of  talking  at  great  length  often  makes 
them  tiresome.  In  order  to  satisfy  her  love  of 
society  Madame  Rabourdin  set  apart  one  day  in  the 
week  as  her  day  at  home,  and  she  went  out  in 
society  as  much  as  possible,  so  that  she  might  there 
taste  the  enjoyments  so  pleasing  to  her  vanity. 
Those  who  are  acquainted  with  Parisian  life  will 
know  how  much  a  woman  of  this  disposition  must 
suffer  by  having  her  ambition  thwarted  in  her  home 
by  the  lack  of  means.  Notwithstanding  all  the  silly 
speeches  about  money,  it  is  always  necessary,  in 
living  in  Paris,  to  curb  ambition  within  one's 
income,  to  render  homage  to  accounts  and  to  kiss 
the  cloven  hoof  of  the  golden  calf.  What  a  problem ! 
An  income  of  twelve  thousand  francs  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  a  household  composed  of  father,  mother, 
two  children,  an  upstairs-girl  and  a  cook,  all  living 
on  the  second  floor  of  a  house  in  Rue  Duphot,  in  an 
apartment  the  rent  of  which  was  a  hundred  louis! 
Before  adding  up  all  the  expenses  of  the  house  let 
us  deduct  the  wardrobe  and  the  equipage  belonging 
to  Madame  Rabourdin,  for  of  all  these  items  her 
wardrobe  was  the  most  costly.  Let  us  now  see 
what  remained  for  the  education  of  the  children,  a 
girl  of  seven  and  a  boy  of  nine,  whose  maintenance 
— notwithstanding  that  the  schooling  was  entirely 
free — cost  as  much  as  two  thousand  francs ;  you  can 
easily  see  that  Madame  Rabourdin  could  scarcely 


14  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

give  thirty  francs  a  month  to  her  husband.  Nearly 
all  Parisian  husbands  are  in  that  situation  unless 
they  pose  as  monsters.  This  woman  who  thought 
herself  calculated  to  shine  in  the  world,  in  fact  to 
rule  it,  saw  herself  forced  to  use  her  thoughts  and 
her  talents  in  an  insignificant  struggle  which  she 
had  not  foreseen,  in  curbing  her  desires  to  corre- 
spond with  her  account  book.  Even  now,  how 
greatly  did  her  self-conceit  suffer!  She  had  dis- 
missed her  man-servant  upon  the  death  of  her 
father.  Most  women  would  have  become  wearied 
with  this  daily  economy,  they  would  have  com- 
plained, and  at  last  yielded  to  their  lot;  but  instead 
of  sinking  under  its  weight,  Celestine's  ambition 
thrived  under  difficulties,  which  unable  to  conquer, 
she  set  herself  to  work  to  remove.  In  her  eyes, 
these  impediments  in  her  path  were  like  the 
Gordian  knot  which  it  was  impossible  to  untie, 
but  which  genius  could  cut  Far  from  reconciling 
herself  to  a  place  in  the  middle  classes,  she  fretted 
at  the  hindrances  in  the  way  of  her  ambitions  by 
accusing  fate  of  deceiving  her.  Celestine  really 
believed  that  she  was  a  superior  woman.  Perhaps 
she  was  right,  perhaps  she  would  have  been  great, 
had  great  occasions  presented  themselves,  perhaps 
she  was  not  in  her  right  place.  Let  us  acknowledge 
that  there  are  types  of  women  as  well  as  of  men, 
whom  society  fashions  to  suit  its  pleasures.  Now  in 
social  laws  as  in  natural  laws,  there  are  more  young 
shoots  than  there  are  trees,  more  spawn  than  fully 
developed  fish.    Many  people  of  talent,  like  Athanase 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 5 

Granson,  are  doomed  to  die  withered  like  seeds 
which  fall  on  the  bare  rock.  It  is  true  that  there 
are  women  who  devote  themselves  to  housekeeping, 
women  whose  chief  talent  lies  in  being  agreeable, 
women  devoted  to  luxuries,  women  who  are  merely 
wives,  or  mothers,  or  lovers,  women  purely  spir- 
itual or  entirely  worldly;  the  same  as  there  are 
artists,  soldiers,  artisans,  mathematicians,  poets, 
merchants,  also  people  who  devote  themselves  to 
finance,  agriculture  or  the  art  of  governing.  More- 
over the  strangeness  of  events  leads  to  contradic- 
tions ;  many  called  and  few  chosen  is  a  law  of  the 
city  as  well  as  of  Heaven.  Madame  Rabourdin 
imagined  herself  quite  capable  of  guiding  a  states- 
man, of  inspiring  the  soul  of  an  artist,  of  furthering 
the  interests  of  an  inventor,  and  of  helping  him  in 
his  struggles,  of  devoting  herself  to  the  wise  finan- 
ciering of  a  Nucingen,  of  doing  honor  to  a  large  for- 
tune. Perhaps  she  would  in  this  way  explain  her 
great  dislike  of  going  over  the  washing  list,  the 
daily  kitchen  accounts,  the  petty  calculations  and 
cares  necessary  in  managing  a  small  house.  She 
made  herself  superior  only  in  doing  those  things 
which  gave  her  pleasure.  In  feeling  so  keenly  the 
thorns  of  a  position  which  might  be  compared  to 
that  of  Saint  Lawrence  on  his  gridiron,  must  she  utter 
no  murmur.?  Indeed,  in  the  paroxysms  of  her 
thwarted  ambition,  in  the  moments  when  her 
wounded  vanity  caused  her  sharp  pangs,  Celestine 
berated  Xavier  Rabourdin.  Was  it  not  her  hus- 
band's duty  to  place  her  in  a  suitable  position?    If 


l6  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

she  had  only  been  a  man,  she  would  indeed  have 
had  the  energy  to  make  a  fortune  quickly  in  order 
to  make  a  beloved  wife  happy!  She  reproached 
him  with  being  a  too  conscientious  man.  In  the 
mouth  of  some  women  this  accusation  is  an  accusa- 
tion of  imbecility.  She  drew  for  him  superb  plans, 
in  which  she  ignored  all  the  obstacles  which  men 
and  circumstances  bring  to  bear  upon  them;  fur- 
thermore, like  all  women  stirred  with  violent 
emotion,  she  became,  in  thought,  more  crafty  than  a 
Gondreville,  and  more  licentious  than  Maxime  de 
Trailles.  Celestine's  mind  thought  of  everything, 
and  she  gave  full  play  to  the  expansion  of  her 
ideas.  On  hearing  these  beautiful  fancies,  Rabour- 
din,  who  knew  the  working  of  things,  remained 
unmoved.  Celestine,  saddened,  thought  her  hus- 
band narrow-minded,  timid,  of  limited  comprehen- 
sion and  so  insensibly  had  a  very  false  opinion  of 
her  companion  in  life;  at  first  she  stunned  him  by 
the  brilliancy  of  her  argument;  then,  by  her  ideas, 
which  came  to  her  like  flashes  of  lightning.  She 
stopped  him  short  when  he  began  to  give  an 
explanation,  so  that  she  would  not  lose  a  particle  of 
her  enthusiasm.  From  the  earliest  days  of  their 
marriage,  Celestine,  feeling  that  she  was  loved  and 
admired  by  Rabourdin,  was  entirely  unreserved 
with  her  husband;  she  paid  no  attention  to  the 
deference  due  to  him  nor  to  familiar  politeness,  in 
demanding  in  the  name  of  love,  pardon  for  all 
her  little  faults;  and  as  she  never  corrected  them, 
she  continued    to    rule  over  him.      Under  these 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  17 

circumstances  a  man  finds  himself  toward  his  wife 
like  a  child  before  his  teacher,  when  it  never  occurs 
to  him  to  think  that  the  child  whom  he  ruled  over 
when  little  may  now  have  grown  up.  Like 
Madame  de  Stael,  who  called  out  in  a  drawing-room 
full  of  people  to  a  plus  ''grand  homme"  than  she: 
"Do  you  know  that  you  have  just  said  something 
very  wise!"  Madame  Rabourdin  said  of  her  hus- 
band: "He  occasionally  is  somewhat  clever."  The 
dependence  in  which  she  continued  to  hold  Xavier 
was  shown  by  almost  imperceptible  movements  of 
her  face.  Her  attitude  and  her  manners  expressed 
her,  lack  of  respect.  Without  knowing  it  she  in- 
jured her  husband;  for  in  all  countries,  before  judg- 
ing a  man,  the  world  listens  to  his  wife's  opinion 
of  him,  and  in  this  way  asks  what  the  inhabitants 
of  Geneva  call,  un  preavis — pronounced  in  the 
language  of  that  country  priavisse.— 'When  Rabour- 
din saw  the  faults  which  love  led  him  to  commit, 
his  decision  was  made,  he  suffered  in  silence.  Like 
some  men  in  whom  sentiment  and  intellect  are 
equally  balanced,  who  possess  at  the  same  time  a 
noble  soul,  and  a  nicely  balanced  brain,  he  became 
the  advocate  of  his  wife's  ideas  before  the  tribunal 
of  his  own  judgment.  He  said  that  nature  had  des- 
tined her  to  play  a  role  lost  through  his  own  fault 
She  was  like  an  English  thoroughbred  horse,  a  racer 
attached  to  a  wagon  full  of  stones,  and  she  suffered 
in  consequence;  thus  he  blamed  himself.  Besides, 
by  dint  of  repetition,  his  wife  had  imbued  him  with 
the  thought  that  she  was  infallible.     Exchange  of 


l8  THE  CIVIL  SERVTCE 

thoughts  is  contagious  in  the  home-circle:  the  ninth 
Therm idor  is,  like  many  great  events,  the  result  of 
female  influence.  Thus  pushed  on  by  Celestine's 
ambition,  Rabourdin  had  for  some  time  dreamed  of 
satisfying  it,  but  these  hopes  he  hid  from  his  wife, 
so  that  she  would  not  be  further  grieved  should  he 
fail.  This  well-meaning  man  resolved  to  force  his 
way  up  in  the  administration  by  a  bold  stroke.  He 
wished  to  bring  about  one  of  those  revolutions 
which  place  a  man  at  the  head  of  any  political 
party.  But  finding  himself  incapable  of  overturn- 
ing things  for  his  own  advantage,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  useful  thoughts  and  strove  for  a  tri- 
umph which  he  intended  to  obtain  by  honorable 
means.  There  are  few  government  officials  who 
have  not  conceived  this  brilliant  and  generous 
idea,  but  with  them  as  with  artists  many  more  of 
their  plans  come  to  naught  than  materialize.  As 
Buffon  says:  "Genius  consists  in  patience." 

Placed  in  a  position  where  he  could  study  the 
French  Government  and  observe  its  mechanism, 
Rabourdin  laid  his  plans  in  the  midst  of  the  field  of 
labor  in  which  chance  had  placed  him,  which,  let 
me  emphasize,  is  the  secret  of  much  human  accom- 
plishment In  his  case  it  culminated  in  his  invent- 
ing a  new  system  of  government  Knowing  the 
men  with  whom  he  had  dealings,  he  respected  this 
machine  which  worked  then,  works  now,  and  will 
continue  to  work  for  a  long  time  to  come,  for  every- 
one is  frightened  at  the  thought  of  reorganizing  it; 
but  according  to  Rabourdin's  ideas,  no  one  should 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I9 

refuse  to  try  to  make  it  more  simple  in  its  construc- 
tion. In  his  opinion  tiie  problem  to  be  solved  lay 
in  the  better  employment  of  the  forces  already  in 
use.  The  simplest  solution  of  this  plan  would  be 
to  revise  the  taxes  in  such  a  way  that  the  state 
would  lose  no  revenue,  and  to  obtain  by  a  budget, — 
equal  to  the  budget  which  now  calls  forth  many 
foolish  discussions, — results  twice  as  great  as  the 
present  results.  By  long  practice  Rabourdin  had 
observed  that  in  everything  perfection  is  the  result 
of  simple  but  sudden  changes.  To  economize  is  to 
simplify.  To  simplify  is  to  do  away  with  useless 
machinery.  There  would  then  be  vacancies  in  the 
department.  His  system  of  government  therefore 
depended  on  abolishing  the  prevailing  classification, 
he  would  give  a  new  nomenclature  to  his  adminis- 
tration. This  perhaps  is  the  reason  that  innovators 
are  so  disliked.  These  removals  necessary  in  per- 
fecting the  plan  are  at  first  not  well  understood,  they 
threaten  those  who  do  not  lend  themselves  easily 
to  changed  conditions.  What  really  made  Rabourdin 
a  great  man  was  the  fact  that  he  restrained  the  en- 
thusiasm which  takes  possession  of  all  inventors, 
and  that  he  searched  patiently  for  an  expedient 
adapted  to  every  circumstance  which  would  avoid 
shocks,  by  leaving  to  time  and  experience  the  task 
of  demonstrating  the  value  of  every  change.  The 
grandeur  of  the  result  would  make  the  undertaking 
seem  impossible,  if  one  lost  sight  of  the  central 
thought  in  the  rapid  analysis  of  this  system.  It 
is    not   then    irrelevant  to   indicate,   after    these 


20  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

explanations,  however  incomplete  they  may  be,  the 
point  of  view  from  which  he  set  out  to  embrace  the 
administrative  horizon.  This  tale,  which  is  else- 
where confined  to  the  heart  of  the  intrigue,  will 
perhaps  explain  some  of  the  bad  customs  now  preva- 
lent 

Deeply  moved  by  the  grievances  which  he  recog- 
nized in  the  life  of  the  government  employes, 
Xavier  asked  himself  why  they  were  treated  with 
such  increasing  lack  of  consideration ;  he  searched 
for  the  causes  and  found  them  to  be  those  little 
partial  revolutions  which  were  like  the  ruffled 
waters  during  the  tempest  of  1789,  and  which  his- 
torians in  treating  of  the  great  social  events  fail  to 
examine,  although  in  fact  they  have  formed  our 
manners,  such  as  they  are. 

In  olden  days  under  the  monarchy,  the  army  of 
government  employes  did  not  exist  These  clerks 
were  very  few  and  they  obeyed  the  orders  of  a 
prime-minister,  who  was  always  in  communication 
with  the  sovereign,  and  they  thus  served  the  king 
almost  directly.  The  chiefs  of  these  zealous  public 
servants  were  simply  called  premiers  commis.  In 
those  branches  of  government  which  the  king  could 
not  manage  unaided,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  farm- 
ing of  taxes,  the  clerks  bore  to  their  chiefs  the  same 
relation  that  the  clerks  of  a  commercial  house  bear 
to  their  employer.  They  learn  a  science  which 
ought  to  assist  them  in  making  their  fortune.  Thus 
the  smallest  point  of  the  circumference  was  drawn 
toward  the  centre  and  received  life  from  it     The 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  21 

result  was  devotion  and  confidence.  Since  1789  tlie 
state,  the  country,  if  you  prefer,  has  replaced  the 
prince.  Instead  of  being  promoted  suddenly  to  the 
rank  of  chief  magistrate,  clerks  have — notwith- 
standing our  fine  ideas  of  our  country —become 
simply  the  employes  of  the  government,  and  the 
heads  of  the  departments  are  blown  about  at  every 
caprice  of  a  power  called  the  ministry,  and  do  not 
know  at  evening  where  they  will  be  the  next  morn- 
ing. The  man  who  keeps  up  to  the  times  should 
always  have  his  wits  sharpened,  he  lords  it  over  a 
certain  number  of  necessary  clerks  whom  he  dis- 
misses at  pleasure,  while  these  employes  try  to  keep 
their  positions.  The  bureaucracy,  a  gigantic  power 
manipulated  by  dwarfs,  is  thus  created.  If  Napo- 
leon was  in  this  way — by  making  everything  and 
all  mankind  subordinate  to  his  will — able  to  hold 
back  for  a  moment  the  influence  of  the  bureaucracy, 
that  heavy  curtain  hung  between  the  good  to  be 
done  and  he  who  commands  it,  it  was  definitely 
organized  under  the  constitutional  government,  inev- 
itably the  friend  of  mediocrity,  the  great  admirer 
of  well  approved  documents  and  accounts,  in  fine, 
as  meddlesome  as  a  middle-class  woman.  Happy  to 
have  seen  the  ministers  of  state  in  constant  struggle 
with  four  hundred  smaller  minds,  with  ten  or 
twelve  ambitious  and  dishonest  leaders,  civil  ser- 
vice officials  immediately  become  necessary  by  the 
substitution  for  action  of  written  decrees,  and  they 
create  a  power  of  inertia  called  a  report  Let  us 
explain  what  a  report  is. 


22  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

When  kings  had  ministers, — which  has  only  been 
from  the  reign  of  Louis  XV., — they  caused  reports  to 
be  made  on  important  questions,  instead  of  holding, 
as  in  olden  times,  council  with  the  chief  men  of  the 
state.  Insensibly,  ministers  of  state  were  led  by 
their  administration  to  imitate  the  king.  Being  en- 
gaged in  defending  themselves  before  the  two  Cham- 
bers and  before  the  court,  they  allowed  themselves 
to  be  in  leading-strings  to  the  report.  Nothing 
important  took  place  in  the  administration,  even 
requiring  most  urgent  action  to  which  the  minister 
did  not  reply,  "I  have  asked  for  a  report."  The 
report  then  bore  the  same  relation  to  business  and 
to  the  minister  that  the  report  of  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  did  to  the  laws : — one  document  where  the 
arguments  pro  and  con  are  treated  with  more  or  less 
partiality.  The  minister  as  well  as  the  Chamber 
finds  everything  laid  down  in  the  report  Every 
view  of  the  subject  is  instantly  taken.  Whatever 
happens,  the  time  will  come  when  the  decision 
must  be  made.  The  more  arguments  pro  and  con, 
the  less  likely  is  the  judgment  to  be  unbiased. 
The  most  beautiful  things  in  France  were  accom- 
plished in  the  days  when  there  were  no  reports, 
and  when  decisions  were  spontaneous.  The  law 
which  governs  the  statesman  is  to  draw  up  precise 
formulas  in  every  case,  after  the  manner  of  judges, 
and  physicians.  Rabourdin  said  to  himself,  "One 
gains  the  position  of  minister  by  his  power  of 
decision,  his  knowledge  of  business  and  how  to 
transact  it"     He  saw  that  the  report  has  full  sway 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  23 

in  France  from  the  colonel  to  the  marshal,  the  com- 
missary of  police  to  the  king,  from  the  prefects  to 
ministers  of  state,  from  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
to  the  law.  From  the  year  1808  everything  was 
discussed,  was  weighed,  was  balanced  by  speeches 
and  written  arguments.  Everything  took  some 
literary  form.  France  was  going  to  ruin  notwith- 
standing these  beautiful  reports,  for  things  were 
discussed  which  instead  required  immediate  action. 
A  million  reports  were  then  written  in  France 
annually!  In  this  fashion  bureaucracy  reigned! 
Law  documents,  parchments,  papers  were  the  props 
of  the  structure  without  which  France  would  be 
lost,  the  circular  without  which  she  could  not 
advance,  grow,  became  more  expansive  and  more 
elaborate.  The  bureaucracy  henceforth  used  for 
its  own  profit  the  discrepancies  between  the  receipts 
and  the  expenses.  The  administrator  was  blamed 
so  that  the  administration  might  be  exonerated. 
At  last  Lilliputian  threads  were  discovered  which 
drew  France,  as  by  a  chain,  to  Paris  as  the 
central  power,  as  if  France,  from  150x3  to  1800,  had 
undertaken  nothing  without  thirty  thousand  clerks. 
In  attaching  itself  to  public  offices  like  a  mistletoe 
to  a  pear-tree,  the  clerk  indemnified  himself  fully 
and  in  the  following  manner: 

The  ministers  of  state,  obliged  to  obey  the 
Princes  or  Chamber  of  Deputies,  by  whom  they 
are  ordered  to  prepare  certain  portions  of  the 
budget,  and  forced  to  maintain  some  workers, 
cut  down  the  salaries,   and  increased  the  offices. 


24  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

believing  that  the  more  people  employed  by  the 
government,  the  stronger  would  the  government  be. 
The  contrary  is  a  written  law  of  the  universe. 
There  is  no  other  energy  apart  from  that  of  active 
principles.  The  mistake  of  the  excessive  administra- 
tion of  the  Restoration  has  been  proved  by  events 
which  happened  about  July,  1830.  In  order  to  plant  a 
government  in  the  heart  of  a  nation,  it  is  necessary 
to  attach  to  it  interests  and  not  men.  The  govern- 
ment clerk  despised  the  government  which  lessened 
at  the  same  time  his  importance  and  his  salary, 
and  treated  him  in  the  same  manner  that  a  courtesan 
treats  an  aged  lover.  It  gave  him  work  in  return 
for  his  salary;  a  state  of  affairs  as  intolerable  for 
the  administration  as  for  the  clerk,  if  each  had 
dared  to  feel  the  other's -pulse,  or  had  those  drawing 
large  salaries  not  stifled  the  voices  of  those  whose 
salaries  were  small.  The  clerk  occupied  solely  in 
maintaining  himself,  in  keeping  his  position  and  in 
receiving  his  pension,  believed  himself  justifiable 
in  obtaining  this  great  result  This  state  of  things 
encouraged  the  clerk  to  be  servile,  he  concocted 
perpetual  intrigues  in  the  various  departments  of 
the  government,  when  the  poor  clerks  struggled 
against  a  degenerate  aristocracy  who  came  to  pas- 
ture on  the  commons  belonging  to  the  middle 
classes,  by  insisting  on  having  places  for  their 
ruined  children.  A  superior  man  could  with  diffi- 
culty walk  along  these  tortuous  paths,  bow,  cringe, 
slide  in  the  mire  of  these  sinks  of  vice  where 
remarkable  faces  frighten  every  one.    An  ambitious 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  2$ 

genius  would  grow  old  while  trying  to  gain  the 
triple  crown,  he  does  not  need  to  imitate  Sixtus 
Fifth  in  order  to  become  chief  of  the  department 
Only  the  lazy,  the  incapable,  or  the  intensely 
stupid  stay  there  long  enough  to  arrive  at  that 
distinction.  Thus  the  mediocrity  of  the  French  ad- 
ministration was  slowly  established.  These 
government  officials  being  entirely  composed  of  men 
of  small  minds  form  an  obstacle  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  country.  For  seven  years  they  withheld  the 
plans  for  a  canal  which  would  have  stimulated  the 
production  of  a  province.  Frightened  at  everything, 
they  postpone  indefinitely,  perpetuating  those 
abuses  which  perpetuate  and  consolidate  its  methods. 
Bureaucracy  holds  every  one,  even  the  head  of  the 
department,  in  leading-strings.  It  puts  down  men 
of  talent  who  are  brave  enough  to  try  to  do  without 
its  aid  or  who  endeavor  to  enlighten  it  in  regard  to 
its  faults.  The  pension  book  had  just  been  pub- 
lished. In  it  Rabourdin  saw  the  name  of  an  office- 
boy  put  down  for  a  sum  larger  than  that  given  to 
old  colonels  covered  with  wounds.  In  this  can 
be  read  the  entire  history  of  the  administra- 
tion. Another  evil  engendered  by  modern  morals, 
can  be  counted  among  the  causes  of  this  secret 
demoralization.  In  the  administration  at  Paris 
there  is  in  reality  no  subordination,  complete 
equality  reigns  between  the  head  of  an  important 
division  and  the  humblest  official:  one  is  of  as 
much  consequence  as  the  other  in  an  arena  which 
is  only  entered  as  a  place  from   which  to  seek 


26  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

other  positions,  for  these  clerks  are  recruited  from 
the  ranks  of  poet,  artist,  or  merchant  These  em- 
ployes criticise  each  other  without  reserve. 

Does  not  education  equally,  liberally  distributed 
without  measure  among  the  masses  now  lead  the 
son  of  a  door-keeper  of  the  minister  of  state  to 
decide  the  fate  of  a  man  of  merit  or  of  large  prop- 
erty by  whom  his  father  was  employed  as  door- 
keeper ?  The  last  comer  can  thus  contend  with  the 
oldest  official.  A  rich  supernumerary  splashes  his 
chief,  as  he  drives  to  Longchamps  in  his  tilbury  in 
which  is  seated  a  beautiful  woman,  to  whom  he 
says,  "There  is  my  chief,"  at  the  same  time  indi- 
cating by  a  movement  of  his  whip,  the  poor  father 
of  a  family  going  on  foot.  The  Liberals  call  this 
state  of  things  PROGRESS.  Rabourdin  saw  ANARCHY 
at  the  heart  of  this  power.  As  a  result  of  this  state 
of  things  did  he  not  see  disturbing  intrigues  like 
those  which  take  place  in  the  seraglio,  between  the 
eunuchs,  the  women  and  the  imbecile  sultan,  or  the 
little  quarrels  of  nuns,  full  of  secret  vexations,  or 
college  tyrannies,  diplomatic  schemes,  fit  to  frighten 
an  ambassador  undertaken  for  a  fee  or  for  an 
increase  of  salary;  it  all  resembles  the  jumping  of 
fleas  harnessed  to  a  pasteboard  cart;  the  enmity  of 
a  negro  shown  toward  the  minister  of  state  himself; 
then  there  are  other  men,  who  are  really  useful,  the 
workers, — victims  of  these  parasites;  men  devoted 
to  their  country  who  stand  prominently  forth  be- 
yond the  incapable  throng,  these  are  obliged  to 
succumb  to  ignoble  and  treasonable  plots.     All  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  2^ 

high  places  are  to  be  obtained  by  parliamentary 
influence  alone  and  no  longer  from  royalty.  The 
clerks  of  departments  find  themselves  sooner  or 
later  in  the  condition  of  a  wheel  screwed  on  to  a 
machine;  the  only  variation  of  their  lot  is  to  be 
more  or  less  oiled.  This  fatal  conviction,  already 
perceived  by  bright  minds,  effectually  Stifles  the 
statements  conscientiously  written  on  the  secret 
evils  of  the  country,  effectually  disarms  courage, 
corrupts  those  who  had  the  strictest  regard  for  hon- 
esty, fatigued  as  they  were  by  injustice  and  induced 
to  become  careless  by  destructive  ennuis.  A  clerk 
in  the  employ  of  Rothschild  Brothers  corresponds 
with  all  England,  a  single  government  official  can 
correspond  with  all  the  prefects;  but  here  where 
one  goes  to  learn  how  to  make  his  fortune,  another 
loses  in  useless  endeavor  his  time,  his  life  and  his 
health.  Hence  comes  the  mischief.  Certainly  a 
country  will  not  be  immediately  menaced  with 
death  because  a  talented  government  official  retires 
and  a  man  of  mediocre  ability  takes  his  place.  Un- 
happily for  nations  no  one  man  is  indispensable  to 
their  existence.  But  in  the  long  run,  when  talent 
in  every  department  is  diminished,  the  nations 
must  disappear.  Everyone  who  has  read  can  find 
instruction  in  Venice,  Madrid,  Amsterdam,  Stock- 
holm and  Rome,  places  where  once  great  power 
reigned,  and  see  them  now  destroyed  by  the  small 
ideas  which  filtered  into  them  while  they  were 
gaining  their  power.  On  the  day  of  conflict,  every- 
thing having  been  found  in  a  weak  condition,  the 


38  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

state  yielded  to  a  slight  attack.  To  adore  the  fool 
who  succeeds,  to  feel  no  sorrow  for  the  fall  of  a 
man  of  talent,  is  the  result  of  our  sadly  misdirected 
education  and  our  customs,  which  put  talented  men 
to  ridicule,  and  drive  genius  to  despair.  But  what 
problem  is  more  difficult  to  solve  than  that  of  the 
re-establishment  of  the  civil  service  at  a  time  when 
liberalism  cried  out  through  the  newspapers  in  all 
industrial  workshops  that  the  salary  of  government 
officials  constituted  a  perpetual  robbery,  when  lib- 
eralism compared  the  headings  of  the  chapters  of 
the  budget  to  a  cluster  of  leeches,  and  every  year 
asked  the  gain  of  the  thousand  million  francs  of 
taxes  spent?  In  Monsieur  Rabourdin's  eyes  the 
employe,  in  relation  to  the  budget,  held  the  same 
position  that  the  gambler  holds  to  the  game ;  every- 
thing that  he  wins,  he  risks  again.  All  large  sal- 
aries imply  an  equivalent  Is  it  not  organizing 
robbery  and  misery  to  pay  a  man  a  thousand 
francs  a  year  for  his  entire  services?  A  convict 
costs  the  government  almost  as  much  and  he  does 
less  work.  But  this  government  desires  that  a  man 
to  whom  it  gives  twelve  thousand  francs  a  year  in 
return  for  his  devotion  to  his  country  would  thereby 
make  a  contract  profitable  for  both,  which  would 
inspire  him  to  do  his  best 


These  reflections  had  thus  led  Rabourdin  to  try 
to  remodel  the  staff.  To  employ  fewer  clerks,  to 
triple  or  double  their  salaries  and  to  abolish 
pensions;  to  employ  young  clerks  as  did  Napoleon, 
Louis  XIV.,  Richelieu  and  Ximen^s,  but  to  keep 
them  a  long  time  by  holding  out  inducements  of 
high  places  and  great  honors,  these  were  the  chief 
points  in  a  reform  as  useful  to  the  state  as  to  those 
employed  in  its  service.  It  is  difficult  to  relate  in 
detail,  chapter  by  chapter,  a  plan  which  embraced 
the  budget  and  which  descended  into  the  smallest 
details  of  the  administration  to  carry  out  these 
principles;  but  perhaps  one  instance  of  these  great 
reforms  will  suffice  for  those  who  understand  as 
well  as  for  those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  adminis- 
trative constitution.  Although  the  position  of  a 
historian  may  be  dangerous  in  relating  a  plan  some- 
what resembling  politics  made  by  the  fireside,  yet 
it  is  necessary  to  portray  it,  so  as  to  explain  the 
man  by  his  deeds.  By  suppressing  the  recital  of 
these  deeds,  you  would  not  be  able  to  believe  the 
narrator  under  oath,  if  he  had  contented  himself 
with  merely  stating  the  talent  or  audacity  of  this 
chief  of  the  department 

Rabourdin's  plan  divided  the  government  into 
three  divisions.  He  thought  that,  if  formerly 
there  had  been  men  of  a  sufficient  ability  to  grasp 


30  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

at  once,  domestic  and  foreign  affairs,  France  to-day 
would  not  lack  a  Mazarin,  a  Suger,  a  Sully,  a  Choi- 
seul,  a  Colbert,  to  direct  a  government  even  greater 
than  that  which  now  exists.  Besides,  constitu- 
tionally speaking,  three  ministers  of  state  would 
agree  better  than  seven.  Then  it  is  also  less  diffi- 
cult to  make  a  mistake  in  choosing  them.  Finally, 
perhaps  royalty  would  in  this  way  avoid  the  per- 
petual oscillation  of  the  different  factions  which  do 
not  permit  the  following  out  of  any  plan  of  foreign 
policy,  nor  the  accomplishment  of  any  domestic 
reform.  Austria,  composed  of  so  many  national- 
ities, presents  a  great  many  different  interests,  all 
of  which  must  be  conciliated,  ruled  by  the  one 
crown ;  here  two  statesmen  carry  the  weight  of 
public  business,  without  being  crushed  by  it  Is 
France  poorer  than  Germany  in  political  ability? 
The  child's  play, — quite  foolish  enough, — called  the 
institutions  constitutionnelles,  developed  beyond  all 
bounds,  have  ended,  as  is  said,  by  requiring  many 
ministers  of  state  in  order  to  satisfy  the  increased 
ambitions  of  the  middle-classes.  At  first  it  seemed 
quite  natural  to  Rabourdin  to  unite  in  the  same 
person  the  secretary  of  the  navy  with  the  secretary 
of  war.  According  to  his  ideas  the  navy  was 
merely  one  of  the  accounts  kept  by  the  secretary  of 
war,  just  like  the  artillery,  the  cavalry,  the  infantry, 
the  commissariat  Was  it  not  a  mistake  to  place 
the  admiralty  and  the  marshals  in  separate  depart- 
ments when  they  have  a  common  object  in  view; 
the  defence  of  the  country,  the  attack  of  the  enemy, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  3 1 

the  protection  of  the  national  possessions  ?  To  the 
ministry  of  the  interior  should  be  united  commerce, 
the  police,  and  the  finances,  under  penalty  of  bely- 
ing its  name.  To  the  ministry  of  foreign  affairs 
should  belong  law,  the  king's  palace,  and  everything 
which  in  the  internal  administration  concerns  arts, 
literature  and  science.  All  protection  should  be 
derived  directly  from  the  sovereign.  This,  of 
course,  implied  the  presidency  of  the  council. 
Each  one  of  these  three  administrators  would  not 
need  more  than  two  hundred  clerks  under  this  cen- 
tralized rule,  where  Rabourdin  would  place  them 
all,  as  was  formerly  the  case,  under  the  monarchy. 
In  taking  as  an  average  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand 
francs  per  head,  he  calculated  that  seven  millions 
would  be  needed  for  the  salaries  of  these  officials, 
which  cost  more  than  twenty  in  the  budget  of  to- 
day. In  thus  reducing  the  ministries  to  three 
departments  he  would  abolish  entire  administra- 
tions, which  had  become  useless,  and  whose  offices 
were  kept  up  at  immense  expense  in  Paris. 
He  proved  that  one  arrondissement  could  be  ruled 
by  ten  men,  a  prefecture  by  twelve  at  the  most, 
which  would  be  at  the  rate  of  five  thousand  gov- 
ernment officials  for  all  France — justice  and  the 
army  not  included — a  number  less  than  the  list 
even  of  those  employed  under  the  present  adminis- 
tration. But  in  this  plan  the  clerks  of  the  tribunal 
would  have  all  mortgages  under  their  care;  but  the 
public  minister  would  have  the  making  out  of  deeds, 
and  the  management  of  property.    Rabourdin  would 


32  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

reunite  under  the  same  head  similar  parties.  Thus 
mortgages,  the  transfer  of  property,  the  making  out 
of  deeds  would  not  have  to  go  from  one  department 
to  the  other,  and  would  only  necessitate  three 
supernumeraries  for  each  tribunal,  and  three  for  the 
royal  court  The  constant  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple led  Rabourdin  to  reform  the  finances.  He 
combined  all  the  various  duties  under  one  head,  by 
taxing  all  kinds  of  products  instead  of  taxing  real 
estate.  According  to  his  ideas  these  products  were 
the  only  taxable  articles  in  times  of  peace.  The 
taxes  on  real  estate,  he  thought,  should  be  held  in 
reserve  in  case  of  war.  Then  only  could  the  state 
demand  taxes  on  lands,  for  it  was  then  occupied  in 
defending  them;  but  in  times  of  peace,  it  was  a 
grave  political  error  to  alarm  people  beyond  a  certain 
limit;  in  great  crises  they  could  then  get  no  more. 
Thus  the  loan  during  peace  would  be  placed  at  par 
and  not  at  fifty  per  cent  discount,  as  in  bad  times; 
in  time  of  war,  real  estate  should  be  taxed. 

The  invasion  of  1814  and  181 5,  said  Rabourdin  to 
his  friends,  has  established  itself  in  France  and 
demonstrated  the  workings  of  an  institution  that 
neither  law  nor  Napoleon  had  power  to  establish: 
which  is  credit 

Unhappily,  Xavier  thought  that  the  true  princi- 
ples of  this  admirable  government  were  not  well 
understood,  at  the  time  he  began  his  reform  in 
182a  Rabourdin  would  tax  the  products  by  levy- 
ing the  taxes  directly,  by  suppressing  all  means  of 
indirect  taxation.     The  collection  of  taxes  was  to 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  33 

be  simplified  by  classing  many  articles  under  one 
head.  He  would  thus  beat  down  the  annoying  toll- 
gates  at  the  entrance  to  the  cities,  which  would 
bring  greater  revenues  by  simplifying  their  mode  of 
collection, — now  very  costly.  Diminishing  the  bur- 
den of  a  heavy  taxation  is  not,  in  a  matter  of 
finance,  necessarily  diminishing  the  taxes,  it  is  the 
art  of  distributing  them  better;  lightening  them  is 
to  increase  the  mass  of  business  by  giving  them 
more  play;  the  individual  pays  less,  the  state 
receives  more.  This  reform,  which  might  seem 
immense,  rests  on  a  very  simple  foundation. 
Rabourdin  thought  that  the  taxes  on  personal  effects 
and  furniture  were  the  most  faithful  representations 
of  the  general  consumption.  Individual  fortunes 
are  well  represented  in  France  by  the  rent  paid,  by 
the  number  of  servants  employed,  by  the  elegant 
horses  and  carriages  which  are  the  marks  of  wealth. 
Dwellings  and  what  they  contain  vary  little,  and 
would  not  be  likely  to  disappear.  After  having 
indicated  the  way  of  making  a  list  of  taxable  per- 
sonal property,  more  correct  than  the  one  which  at 
that  time  existed,  he  would  invest  the  sums  brought 
into  the  treasury  under  the  head  of  indirect  taxa- 
tion at  so  much  per  cent  for  each  assessment  A 
tax  is  levying  money  under  more  or  less  specious 
disguises  on  things  or  on  people;  these  disguises 
serve  a  good  purpose  when  money  is  to  be  extorted, 
but  are  they  not  ridiculous  in  an  age  when  the 
class  which  suffers  from  the  taxes  knows  why  the 
state  makes  them  out  and  what  machinery  it 
3 


34  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

employs  to  gather  them  ?  In  reality  the  budget  is 
not  a  strong-box,  but  a  watering-pot;  the  more  it 
receives  and  pours  out,  the  more  the  country  pros- 
pers. For  instance,  let  us  suppose  six  millions  of 
cotes  aisles — Rabourdin  proved  their  existence  by 
counting  the  cotes  riches — would  it  not  be  better  to 
ask  them  at  once  for  a  tax  on  wine  which  would  not 
be  more  odious  than  the  tax  on  doors  and  windows 
and  would  produce  a  hundred  million  francs,  rather 
than  irritate  them  by  taxing  the  thing  itself?  By 
thus  regulating  the  tax,  each  taxpayer  would  in 
reality  have  to  pay  less,  the  state  would  receive 
more,  and  the  consumers  would  enjoy  an  immense 
reduction  in  the  price  of  the  articles  which  the 
state  would  no  longer  allow  to  be  taxed  without 
bonds.  Rabourdin  would  retain  the  taxes  on  cul- 
tivating vineyards,  so  that  this  industry  might  be 
protected  against  overproduction.  Then  to  reach 
the  products  of  the  poorer  taxpayers  the  licenses  of 
retail  dealers  were  to  be  taxed  according  to  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  places  in  which  they  lived.  Thus 
under  three  heads :  a  tax  on  wines,  a  tax  on  agricul- 
ture and  a  tax  on  licenses,  the  treasury  would  gain 
great  returns  without  any  trouble  or  vexation, 
where  now  a  galling  tax  is  divided  between  the 
Civil  Service  and  the  state.  The  taxes  would 
then  fall  on  the  rich  instead  of  tormenting  the 
poor.  Let  us  take  another  example.  Suppose 
there  was  a  tax  of  one  franc  levied  on  salt,  you 
would  obtain  ten  or  twelve  millions  of  francs,  the 
present  tax    on    salt    would  disappear,   the  poor 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  35 

would  breathe  freely,  agriculture  would  be  helped, 
the  state  would  receive  as  much,  and  no  taxpayer 
would  feel  the  effects  of  this  method.  All  tax- 
payers who  belong  more  or  less  to  the  industrial 
classes  or  to  the  capitalists  would  immediately  rec- 
ognize the  benefits  of  a  tax  thus  readjusted,  when 
they  see  even  in  the  least  settled  districts  the 
amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  country  and  the 
expansion  of  commerce.  In  fact  from  year  to  year 
the  state  would  see  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
rich  taxpayers.  By  suppressing  the  levying  of 
indirect  taxes — a  very  costly  proceeding,  which  is 
a  state  within  a  state — the  treasury  and  the  tax- 
payer would  gain  enormously,  by  only  having  to 
consider  the  small  outlay  in  the  cost  of  collection. 
Tobacco  and  powder  could  be  let  to  a  management 
under  surveillance.  The  system  adopted  for  these 
two  taxes,  further  developed  by  others  that  Rabour- 
din  invented  at  the  time  he  remodeled  the  law  in 
regard  to  tobacco,  was  so  convincing  that  this  law 
would  not  have  passed  in  a  Chamber  of  Deputies 
which  could  not  be  threatened  with  a  rupture  of  re- 
lations, as  was  then  the  case  with  the  ministry. 
It  was  then  less  a  question  of  finance  than  a  ques- 
tion of  government  The  state  "in  itself  would 
then  possess  nothing,  neither  forests,  mines,  nor 
public- works.  That  the  state  should  be  in  the  posses- 
sion of  domains  was,  in  Rabourdin's  eyes,  an 
administrative  error.  The  state  does  not  know 
how  to  make  the  best  of  things  and  therefore  de- 
prives itself  of  taxes,  it  loses  two  gains  at  once. 


36  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

As  to  the  government  manufactures  they  are  under 
the  same  nonsensical  system  as  the  other  industries. 
The  state  obtains  products  at  a  higher  cost  than 
commercial  rates,  and  produces  them  more  slowly. 
At  the  same  time  it  fails  to  perceive  its  duty  in 
regard  to  industrial  activity,  by  taking  away  its 
support  Does  the  art  of  governing  a  country  con- 
sist in  manufacturing  instead  of  encouraging  man- 
ufactures, in  possessing  instead  of  furthering  the 
greatest  variety  of  possessions?  In  this  system, 
the  state  would  no  longer  demand  a  single  security 
in  money.  Rabourdin  would  only  admit  mortgage 
securities  and  this  is  the  reason.  Either  the  state 
holds  the  security  in  specie  which  hinders  the  cir- 
culation of  money,  or  it  invests  it  at  a  higher  rate 
of  interest  than  it  pays,  which  is  a  mean  kind  of 
robbery,  or  it  loses  on  the  transaction,  which  is 
very  foolish;  at  last,  if  one  day  it  disposed  of 
the  mass  of  securities,  it  would  in  certain  cases 
bring  about  the  most  distressing  bankruptcy.  The 
land  tax  would  then  not  disappear  entirely.  Rabour- 
din would  be  in  favor  of  having  a  small  portion  of 
it  retained,  as  a  starting  point  in  case  of  war,  but 
evidently  the  productions  of  the  soil  would  become 
free,  and  the  manufacturer  finding  raw-materials  at 
the  lowest  price  would  be  able  to  compete  with  for- 
eigners without  the  deceptive  help  of  duties.  The 
rich  would  undertake  the  government  of  the  depart- 
ments free  of  charge,  in  having  for  their  reward  a 
peerage  subject  to  certain  conditions.  Magistrates, 
learned  bodies,  officers  of  inferior  rank  would  see 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  37 

their  services  properly  paid.  There  would  be  no 
government  official  who  could  complain  that  he  was 
not  treated  with  great  consideration,  merited  by  the 
value  of  his  work  and  the  importance  of  his  posi- 
tion; each  of  them  would,  of  his  own  accord, 
provide  for  his  future,  and  France  would  no  longer 
have  at  her  heart  the  cancer  of  pensions.  As  a  result, 
Rabourdin  would  find  that  seven  hundred  millions 
only  had  been  spent  and  would  see  twelve  hundred 
millions  of  receipts.  A  saving  of  five  hundred  mil- 
lions yearly  would  be  more  important  than  the  small 
abatement  left  after  the  errors  were  demonstrated. 
Then  according  to  his  idea  the  state  would  take  the 
position  of  a  stockholder,  as  it  was  formerly  obsti- 
nately determined  to  be  a  land  owner  and  a 
manufacturer. 

Besides,  in  order  to  execute  his  reform  without 
creating  a  disturbance,  and  in  order  to  avoid  a 
Saint-Bartholomew's  day  throughout  the  Service, 
Rabourdin  asked  for  twenty  years*  time. 

Such  were  the  thoughts  matured  by  this  man 
from  the  time  when  his  place  was  given  to  Mon- 
sieur de  la  Billardi^re,  an  incapable  man.  This  plan, 
of  so  vast  an  aspect,  was  in  reality  very  simple,  it 
suppressed  so  many  great  state  officials,  and  so  many 
smaller  officials  equally  useless,  which  required  con- 
tinual calculations,  exact  statistics,  definite  proofs. 
Rabourdin  had  for  a  long  time  studied  the  budget 
in  its  double  aspect,  that  of  ways  and  means,  and 
that  of  expenses.  Thus  occupied  he  passed  many 
nights    without   his  wife's    knowledge.      It    was 


$8  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

nothing  more  than  that  he  had  dared  to  conceive  this 
plan  and  to  have  superimposed  it  on  the  adminis- 
trative body,  the  next  step  would  be  to  explain  it 
to  a  minister  of  state  capable  of  appreciating  it. 
Rabourdin's  success  then  depended  upon  the  tran- 
quillity of  a  government  still  unsettled.  He  did  not 
consider  the  government  as  definitely  settled  until 
the  time  should  arrive  when  three  hundred  dep- 
uties would  have  the  courage  to  form  a  compact 
majority,  systematically  ministerial.  A  govern- 
ment formed  on  this  basis  had  been  established 
since  Rabourdin  had  finished  his  labors.  In  this 
age,  the  luxury  of  peace  due  to  the  Bourbons  caused 
the  people  to  forget  the  warlike  luxury  in  the  days 
when  France  glittered  like  a  vast  camp,  prodigal 
and  magnificent  because  victorious.  After  her 
campaign  in  Spain  the  ministry  seemed  to  enter 
on  one  of  those  peaceful  careers  where  reforms 
might  be  accomplished  and  since  three  months 
a  new  reign  had  begun  without  meeting  with  any 
obstacles,  for  Liberalism  of  the  Left  had  saluted 
Charles  X.  with  as  much  enthusiasm  as  the  Right 
This  was  calculated  to  mislead  the  most  far-seeing 
people.  This  moment  then  seemed  propitious  for 
Rabourdin.  Was  it  not  a  pledge  of  the  durability 
of  an  administration  to  propose  and  to  push  to  its 
consummation  a  reform  whose  results  were  to  be  so 
great  ? 

This  man  in  consequence  was  never  anything 
but  careworn,  he  was  preoccupied  in  the  morning 
when  he  walked  down  to  the  office,  and  when  he 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  39 

returned  home  at  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon. 
Madame  Rabourdin,  on  her  part,  bemoaned  the  fail- 
ure of  her  life,  was  weary  of  her  secret  struggles  to 
secure  some  pleasures  from  her  toilet,  never  seemed 
more  bitterly  discontented,  but  as  a  wife  attached 
to  her  husband  she  regarded  as  unworthy  of  a  fine 
woman  the  shameful  practices  by  which  certain 
women,  the  wives  of  government  officials,  eked  out 
their  scanty  income.  For  this  reason  she  had 
refused  all  intercourse  with  Madame  Colleville, 
then  in  liaison  with  Francois  Keller,  and  whose 
soirees  were  often  more  elegant  than  those  on  Rue 
Duphot  She  mistook  the  firm  rdle  of  a  political 
thinker,  and  the  preoccupation  of  the  hard  worker, 
for  apathetic  depression  of  the  government  official 
subdued  by  the  ennuis  of  office  routine,  worsted  by 
the  most  detestable  of  all  mishaps — by  that  medi- 
ocrity which  only  earns  a  living,  and  she  sighed  to 
think  that  she  was  married  to  a  man  without  energy. 
So  about  this  time  she  resolved  unaided  to  make 
her  husband's  fortune,  to  thrust  him,  at  all  hazards 
into  a  higher  sphere,  and  to  hide  from  him  the 
move  she  was  to  take.  In  her  mind  she  still 
retained  the  independence  of  ideas  which  distin- 
guished her,  and  which  completely  elevated  her 
beyond  women  generally,  for  she  was  not  like  them 
swayed  by  petty  prejudices,  neither  did  she  trouble 
herself  about  the  shackles  imposed  by  society.  In 
her  anger  she  resolved  to  fight  fools  with  their  own 
weapons,  and  to  strike  out  herself  if  necessary. 
She  saw  everything  from   a  high  standpoint     A 


40  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

favorable  occcasion  presented  itself.  Monsieur  de 
la  Billardi^re,  attacked  by  a  mortal  malady,  would 
possibly  die  in  a  few  days.  If  Rabourdin  should 
succeed  him,  his  talents,  for  Celestine  thought  that 
he  had  administrative  talents,  would  be  so  well 
appreciated  that  the  place  of  mattre  des  requites, 
promised  formerly,  would  be  given  him ;  she  imag- 
ined him  as  king's  commissioner  defending  the  bills 
before  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  She  would  then 
assist  him !  If  need  be  she  would  become  his  sec- 
retary. Thus  she  passed  entire  nights.  That 
would  mean  to  ride  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  in  an 
elegant  barouche,  to  be  on  an  equal  footing  with 
Madame  Delphine  de  Nucingen,  to  have  as  elegant 
entertainments  as  Madame  Colleville,  to  be  invited 
to  the  great  ministerial  events,  to  fascinate  her  lis- 
teners, to  have  people  say  of  her  "Madame  Rabour- 
din de  quelque  chose" — she  did  not  yet  know  by 
what  territorial  title — as  they  speak  of  Madame 
d'Espard,  Madame  d'Aiglemont,  Madame  de  Carig- 
liano;  anything  to  be  free  from  the  odious  name  of 
Rabourdin. 

These  thoughts,  which  she  kept  to  herself,  brought 
about  several  changes  in  her  household  arrange- 
ments. Madame  Rabourdin  now  began  to  walk 
with  a  firm  step,  and  contracted  debts.  She  once 
more  hired  a  man-servant,  whom  she  dressed  in  a 
plain  livery  of  brown  cloth  with  red  trimmings. 
She  had  some  of  her  furniture  restored,  she  redraped 
her  apartment,  embellished  it  with  flowers  often 
renewed,  encumbered   it  with  the  little  nothings 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  4I 

which  were  fashionable  at  that  time;  then  she, 
who  used  to  take  some  thought  as  to  what  she  spent, 
did  not  now  hesitate  to  dress  in  harmony  with  the 
ranl<  to  which  she  aspired,  the  profits  of  which  were 
discounted  in  several  of  the  shops  where  she 
equipped  herself  for  the  conflict  So  that  she  might 
be  fashionable  on  her  Wednesdays  at  home  she 
gave  a  dinner-party  every  Friday,  those  invited  on 
these  occasions  being  expected  to  call  the  following 
Wednesday  and  take  a  cup  of  tea  with  her.  She 
always  chose  her  guests  among  influential  deputies, 
among  the  people  who,  far  and  near,  would  be  able 
to  serve  her  interests.  After  a  while  she  made  a 
very  agreeable  circle  of  acquaintances.  People  en- 
joyed themselves  greatly  at  her  house,  at  least  they 
said  so,  which  is  sufficient  in  Paris  to  attract  soci- 
ety. Rabourdin  was  so  busily  engaged  in  finishing 
his  serious  and  great  undertaking  that  he  did  not 
remark  this  new  growth  of  luxury  in  his  home. 

Thus  the  wife  and  the  husband  sought  the  same 
promotion,  and  worked  for  it  on  parallel  lines,  each 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  other. 

At  that  time  there  flourished  in  the  ministry 
as  secretary-general,  a  certain  Monsieur  Clement 
Chardin  des  Lupeaulx,  one  of  those  people  whom 
the  fluctuation  of  politics  pushes  forward  for  a  few 
years,  they  are  submerged  in  tempestuous  times, 
but  we  find  them  again  on  the  banks  of  the  stream 
some  distance  away,  stranded  like  the  hull  of  a 
boat,  which  nevertheless  has  the  semblance  of 
being  of  some  use.     The  traveler  asks  himself  if 


42  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

this  wreck  has  not  contained  precious  merchandise, 
has  not  been  used  on  important  occasions,  has  not 
aided  in  some  defence,  carried  the  velvets  for  some 
throne  or  transported  some  royal  corpse.  At  this 
time  Clement  des  Lupeaulx — the  Lupeaulx  eclipsed 
the  Chardin — was  in  the  height  of  his  power.  In 
the  most  illustrious  lives  as  well  as  in  the  most 
obscure,  in  animals  as  well  as  in  secretaries-gen- 
eral, is  there  not  a  zenith  and  a  nadir,  one  period 
when  the  color  of  the  hair  of  animals  is  beautiful, 
where  fortune  showers  all  her  blessings  ?  In  the 
nomenclature  created  by  the  writer  of  fables,  des 
Lupeaulx  belonged  to  the  species  Bertrand,  and  was 
always  hunting  for  Ratons,  and  as  he  is  to  become 
one  of  the  principal  actors  in  the  drama,  he  merits 
a  description  all  the  more  minute,  because  the  Rev- 
olution of  July  has  suppressed  this  office,  which 
was  so  eminently  useful  to  constitutional  ministers. 
Moralists  usually  exercise  their  energies  against 
the  most  pressing  abuses.  For,  according  to  them, 
crimes  should  be  punished  by  the  court  of  assizes, 
or  at  the  police  court,  but  social  artifices  escape 
their  attention;  the  qualifications  which  are  of  such 
service  under  the  rule  of  the  Code  are  either  above 
or  beneath  their  comprehension,  they  possess 
neither  magnifying-glasses  nor  telescopes;  sins 
must  be  very  great  to  be  seen  by  them.  Always 
thinking  of  the  beasts,  they  do  not  discover  the 
reptiles;  happily  they  leave  to  the  comic  poets  the 
shading  which  colors  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx.  Ego- 
tistical and  vain,  supple  and  proud,  libertine  and 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  43 

gourmand,  grasping  from  the  pressure  of  his  debts, 
silent  as  the  tomb,  from  which  nothing  issues  to 
contradict  the  epitaph  destined  to  be  read  by  the 
passers-by,  intrepid  and  fearless  when  soliciting, 
amiable  and  witty  in  every  acceptation  of  the  word, 
a  timely  raillery  possessing  great  tact,  knowing 
how  to  compromise  you  by  a  caress  as  well  as  by  a 
nudge,  recoiling  before  no  width  of  stream,  and 
gracefully  jumping  over  it,  an  intrepid  admirer 
of  Voltaire,  yet  attending  mass  at  Saint-Thomas 
d'Aquin,  when  fashionable  people  were  to  be  seen 
there,  this  secretary-general  resembled  all  the  men 
of  mediocre  ability  who  form  the  kernel  of  the 
political  world.  Understanding  human  nature,  he 
assumed  the  position  of  listener,  and  then  no  one 
could  be  more  attentive.  Thus  in  order  to  awaken 
no  suspicion  he  flattered  even  to  satiety,  insinuat- 
ing as  a  perfume,  and  caressing  as  a  woman.  He 
was  just  forty  years  of  age.  His  youth  had  for 
some  time  hindered  his  advancement,  for  he  felt 
that  his  wheel  of  fortune  would  turn  on  his  becom- 
ing a  deputy.  How  had  he  attained  this  position  ? 
every  one  asked.  The  answer  was  very  simple : 
des  Lupeaulx,  although  a  fool  in  regard  to  politics, 
had  taken  charge  of  delicate  undertakings  which 
could  not  have  been  confided  to  a  self-respecting 
man,  nor  to  one  who  had  no  self-respect,  but  which 
might  be  confided  to  a  man  at  the  same  time  serious 
and  enigmatical,  who  could  be  acknowledged  or 
disavowed  at  will.  His  position  was  that  of  being 
always  compromised,  but  he  gained  as  much  by 


44  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

failure  as  he  did  by  success.  He  well  understood 
that  under  the  Restoration,  a  period  of  continual 
transactions  between  men  and  things,  between 
deeds  accomplished  and  those  which  only  loomed 
above  the  horizon,  it  was  very  necessary  for  the 
ruling  powers  to  have  a  factotum..  When  once 
there  is  an  old  woman-servant  in  the  family  who 
knows  how  to  make  and  air  the  bed,  where  to 
sweep  the  dust,  and  where  is  thrown  the  soiled 
linen,  where  the  silver  is  kept,  who  can  appease  a 
creditor,  who  can  tell  which  people  should  be 
allowed  to  enter  the  house  and  which  refused 
admittance;  this  creature,  even  if  she  have  vices, 
is  dirty,  bandy-legged  or  toothless,  or  tries  the 
lottery  and  steals  thirty  sous  a  day  for  her  chance, 
is  liked  and  consulted  by  her  masters  from  habit, 
gives  her  advice  in  the  most  important  matters :  she 
is  there,  suggests  ways  and  means,  and  ferrets  out 
secrets,  brings  the  rouge  and  the  shawl  at  the  right 
moment,  lets  herself  be  scolded,  or  pushed  down  the 
stairs,  and  the  next  day  early,  with  a  smiling  face, 
brings  an  excellent  consomme.  However  great  a 
statesman  may  be,  he  requires  a  housekeeper, 
before  whom  he  can  be  weak,  undecided — caviling 
with  his  lot  in  life — questioning  himself,  answering 
himself  and  preparing  for  the  combat  Is  this  per- 
son not  like  the  soft  wood  of  savages,  which  strikes 
fire  when  rubbed  against  hard  wood?  Many  a 
genius  is  thus  lighted.  Napoleon  lived  with  Ber- 
thier,  and  Richelieu  with  P^re  Joseph.  Des 
Lupeaulx   dwelt   with    everyone.      He  continued 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  45 

friends  with  fallen  ministers  in  constituting  himself 
their  go-between  with  their  successors,  wafting  thus 
the  last  flattery  and  perfuming  the  first  compliment 
He  also  understood  very  well  the  little  matters 
which  a  statesman  has  not  the  leisure  to  think  of. 
He  saw  what  was  necessary ;  he  knew  how  to  obey ; 
he  relieved  his  base  acts  by  jesting  about  them  at 
first,  so  as  to  fully  profit  by  them,  and  he  chose 
that  the  service  he  rendered  should  be  one  that 
could  not  easily  be  forgotten.  Thus  when  the  ditch 
between  the  Empire  and  the  Restoration  was  to  be 
crossed,  when  everyone  was  looking  about  for  a 
plank  to  cross  it,  at  the  moment  when  the  curs  of 
the  Empire  were  rushing  by  with  enthusiastic 
speeches,  des  Lupeaulx  crossed  the  frontier  after 
having  borrowed  large  amounts  from  the  usurers. 
Risking  everything  in  hopes  of  gaining  everything, 
he  bought  up  the  most  pressing  debts  of  Louis 
XVIII.,  and  by  this  means  was  the  first  to  liquidate 
nearly  three  millions  of  them  at  twenty  per  cent, 
for  he  had  the  good  luck  to  be  fortunately  placed  in 
1 8 14  and  181 5.  The  profits  were  absorbed  by 
Sieurs  Gobseck,  Werbrust  and  Gigonnet,  silent 
partners  in  the  enterprise;  but  des  Lupeaulx  had 
promised  them  these  profits,  he  was  not  playing 
one  move  only,  he  played  the  entire  bank,  by 
knowing  well  that  Louis  XVIII.  was  not  a  man  to 
forget  this  debt  of  honor.  Des  Lupeaulx  was  nom- 
inated maitre  des  requites,  Knight  of  the  Order  of 
Saint-Louis,  and  Officer  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
When  this  clever  man  had  once  climbed  to  this 


46  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

height,  he  looked  around  him  for  the  means  of 
holding  himself  on  this  ladder ;  for  in  such  a  strong- 
hold as  he  had  succeeded  in  entering,  generals  do  not 
long  indulge  in  useless  remarks.  Thus  to  his 
capacity  of  drudge  and  agent  he  added  that  of  giv- 
ing gratuitous  consultations  on  the  secret  maladies 
of  the  Civil  Service.  After  having  discovered  in  the 
so-called  superior  men  of  the  Restoration,  their 
great  inferiority  in  regard  to  the  events  which  led 
them  to  the  front,  he  overcame  their  political  medi- 
ocrity by  bringing  them,  by  selling  them — in  the 
very  midst  of  the  crisis — the  word  of  command 
which  men  of  talent  hear  in  future  events.  Do 
not  think  that  this  word  originated  in  his  own 
mind;  if  it  had,  des  Lupeaulx  would  have  been  a 
man  of  genius,  while  he  was  only  a  man  of  talent 
This  Bertrand  went  everywhere,  collecting  opin- 
ions, sounding  men's  minds,  and  catching  their 
tenor.  He  gathered  knowledge  like  a  true  and 
indefatigable  political  bee.  This  walking  dictionary 
of  Bayle  did  not  do  as  did  that  famous  lexicon,  he 
did  not  report  all  opinions  without  drawing  his  own 
conclusions,  he  had  the  talent  of  the  fly  which 
alights  directly  on  the  choicest  meat  in  the  centre 
of  the  kitchen.  He  also  passed  for  a  man  who  was 
indispensable  to  statesmen.  This  belief  had  become 
so  deeply  rooted  in  all  minds,  that  the  ambitious 
new-comers  thought  it  necessary  to  compromise  des 
Lupeaulx  in  order  to  prevent  him  from  rising 
higher;  they  recompensed  him  for  his  lack  of  public 
position  by  their  secret  confidence.     Nevertheless, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  47 

feeling  that  everyone  depended  upon  him,  this 
searcher  for  ideas  exacted  dues.  Rewarded  by  a 
staff  appointment  in  the  National  Guard,  where  he 
held  a  sinecure  which  was  paid  for  by  the  city  of 
Paris,  he  was  government  commissioner  to  a  joint 
stock  company,  and  filled  the  position  of  inspector 
in  the  king's  household.  His  two  official  positions 
inscribed  on  the  budget  were  those  of  secretary- 
general  and  maltre  des  requites.  Now  he  wished 
to  be  Commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  Gentle- 
man of  the  Bed-Chamber,  Count  and  Deputy;  to 
become  a  Deputy  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
pay  a  thousand  francs  of  taxes,  and  the  miserable 
homestead  of  des  Lupeaulx  scarcely  produced  five 
hundred  francs  of  rent  Where  could  he  obtain 
money  to  build  a  chateau,  and  to  surround  it  with 
several  respectable  looking  domains,  so  that  he 
might  throw  dust  in  the  eyes  of  an  entire  arrondisse- 
ment?  Notwithstanding  that  he  dined  out  every 
day,  that  he  had  been  housed  for  nine  years  at  the 
expense  of  the  state,  that  he  had  used  the  carriage 
belonging  to  the  minister  of  state,  des  Lupeaulx 
possessed  but  little,  at  the  moment  when  this  scene 
opens,  except  thirty  thousand  francs  of  genuine 
debts,  which  no  one  disputed.  A  marriage  might 
set  this  ambitious  man  afloat,  by  bailing  out  his 
bark,  now  full  of  the  water  of  debt;  but  a  good  mar- 
riage would  depend  upon  his  advancement,  and  his 
advancement  on  his  becoming  a  Deputy.  In  search- 
ing for  the  means  of  breaking  through  this  vicious 
circle,  he  saw  but  one  way,  that  of  rendering  a 


48  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

great  service,  or  of  carrying  an  intrigue  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue.  But  alas !  the  days  of  conspiracies 
were  past,  and  the  Bourbons  had  apparently  van- 
quished all  parties.  Unfortunately,  for  the  last  few 
years,  the  government  had  been  so  well  held  up  to 
the  light  of  day  by  the  foolish  discussions  of  the 
Left,  whose  aim  was  to  render  all  government  in 
France  impossible,  that  business  could  no  longer  be 
carried  on ;  the  last  was  done  in  Spain,  and  what 
an  outcry  it  excited!  Then  des  Lupeaulx  multi- 
plied difficulties  in  believing  in  the  friendship  of 
his  minister,  to  whom  he  imprudently  expressed  the 
desire  of  being  placed  on  the  ministerial  bench. 
The  ministers  divined  the  source  of  this  wish, 
which  was  that  des  Lupeaulx  thought  to  consolidate 
his  now  precarious  position,  and  no  longer  re- 
main under  their  rule.  The  greyhound  turned 
against  the  huntsman.  The  ministers  gave  him 
by  turns  cuts  with  the  whip  and  caresses,  and 
placed  rivals  in  his  path;  but  toward  them  des 
Lupeaulx  conducted  himself  as  a  practised  courtier 
would  with  a  new-comer.  He  laid  traps  for  them 
into  which  they  fell,  and  thereby  exercised  prompt 
justice.  The  more  he  felt  himself  threatened,  the 
more  he  desired  to  gain  a  permanent  position ;  but 
he  was  forced  to  play  prudently!  Otherwise,  in 
one  moment  all  might  be  lost  One  stroke  of  the 
pen  might  strike  off  his  epaulettes  which  told  his 
rank  as  civil-colonel,  his  inspectorship,  his  sinecure 
in  the  joint  stock  company,  his  two  offices  and  the 
advantages  pertaining  to  them ;  in  all,  six  salaries 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  49 

retained  under  fire  of  the  law  regarding  the  holding 
of  several  offices.  Often  he  threatened  his  minister 
as  a  mistress  threatens  her  lover,  he  said  he  was  on 
the  point  of  marrying  a  rich  widow;  then  the  min- 
ister would  coax  his  dear  des  Lupeaulx.  When  one 
of  these  reconciliations  took  place,  he  received  the 
formal  promise  of  a  place  in  the  Academy  of  Belles- 
Lettres  at  the  first  vacancy.  It  was  he  said,  worth 
the  keep  of  a  horse.  In  his  fine  position,  Clement 
Chardin  des  Lupeaulx  was  like  a  tree  planted  in 
fertile  soil.  He  could  satisfy  his  vices,  his  caprices, 
his  virtues  and  his  defects. 

These  are  the  trials  of  his  life:  daily  he  had  to 
choose  from  among  five  or  six  invitations,  the  house 
where  he  would  be  likely  to  find  the  best  dinner. 
Every  morning  he  went  to  the  informal  reception  of 
the  minister  to  make  him  and  his  wife  laugh,  to  pet 
the  children  and  to  play  with  them.  Then  he 
worked  for  an  hour  or  two,  that  is  to  say  he  lay 
back  in  a  comfortable  chair,  and  read  the  papers, 
dictated  the  purport  of  a  letter,  received  visitors 
during  the  minister's  absence,  explained  the  work 
in  a  general  way,  held,  or  sprinkled  a  few  drops  of 
the  blessed  water  of  the  court,  glanced  over  the 
petitions  through  his  eye-glasses,  or  wrote  in  his 
own  handwriting  on  the  margin,  words  which  sig- 
nified: /  consider  it  ridiculous,  but  do  what  you 
think  best  about  it!  Everyone  knew  that  when  des 
Lupeaulx  was  interested  in  any  one  or  anything,  he 
attended  to  the  matter  himself.  He  permitted  the 
head  clerks  to  converse  confidentially  about  their 
4 


50  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

private  affairs,  at  the  same  time  he  listened  to  their 
gossip.  From  time  to  time  he  went  to  the  chateau 
to  get  his  cue.  He  always  waited  for  the  minister 
to  return  from  the  chamber  when  it  was  in  session, 
to  see  if  he  was  required  to  originate  or  direct  any 
intrigue.  This  official  sybarite  was  well  dressed, 
dined,  and  visited  twelve  or  fifteen  drawing-rooms 
between  eight  in  the  evening  and  three  in  the 
morning.  At  the  opera,  he  talked  with  journalists, 
for  by  them  he  was  held  in  great  esteem ;  a  con- 
tinual flow  of  small  courtesies  was  exchanged 
between  them,  he  dished  up  for  them  his  misleading 
news,  and  greedily  devoured  theirs;  he  prevented 
them  from  attacking  this  or  that  minister  on  such  or 
such  of  their  actions,  as  he  said,  it  would  cause  their 
wives  or  their  mistresses  real  distress. 

Say  that  the  bill  is  worth  nothing,  and  prove  it 
If  you  can ;  but  do  not  say  that  Mariette  danced 
badly.  Let  us  speak  slightingly  of  our  love  for  our 
female  relatives,  but  let  us  not  reveal  the  follies  of 
our  youth.  The  devil !  we  have  all  sowed  our  wild 
oats,  and  we  do  not  know  what  will  become  of  us 
in  the  present  state  of  affairs.  Perhaps  you  will  be 
minister  of  state,  you  who  to-day  are  seasoning  the 
sandwiches  of  the  Constitutionnel — 

In  return,  as  occasion  offered,  he  helped  editors, 
he  overcame  obstacles  which  interfered  with  the 
production  of  a  play,  he  gave  gratuities  or  a  good 
dinner  at  the  appropriate  moment,  or  promised  to 
facilitate  the  settling  up  of  some  affair.  Moreover 
he  loved  literature  and  patronized  the  arts;   he 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  51 

possessed  autographs  and  magnificent  albums  which 
he  obtained  gratis,  besides  which  he  owned  many 
sketches  and  pictures.  He  did  a  great  many  favors 
for  artists  by  not  injuring  them,  and  in  gratifying 
them  on  certain  occasions  when  their  self-love 
longed  for  something  which  was  not  very  costly. 
He  was  also  loved  by  the  world  of  actors  and 
actresses,  of  journalists  and  artists.  In  the  first 
place  they  all  had  the  same  vices  and  the  same 
indolence  as  himself;  then  they  were  so  witty 
between  their  cups  or  in  company  with  two  dancing 
girls !  by  these  means  how  could  they  help  being 
friends.?  If  des  Lupeaulx  had  not  been  secretary- 
general,  he  would  have  been  a  journalist  Thus  in 
the  fifteen  years*  struggle  in  which  the  hammer  of 
epigram  opened  the  breach  by  which  insurrection 
entered,  des  Lupeaulx  never  received  the  least  blow. 
In  seeing  this  man  playing  ball  in  the  minister's 
garden  with  the  minister's  children,  the  petty 
clerks  racked  their  brains  to  guess  the  secret  of  his 
influence  and  the  nature  of  his  work,  while  the 
aristocrats  of  every  ministry  regarded  him  as  the 
most  dangerous  Mephistopheles,  adored  him  and 
returned  to  him  with  interest,  the  flatteries  he 
bestowed  in  the  higher  ranks.  The  utility  of  the 
secretary-general,  although  as  difficult  for  the  under- 
clerks  to  decipher  as  a  hieroglyphic  inscription, 
was  as  plain  as  the  rule  of  three  to  those  interested. 
Charged  with  choosing  opinions  and  ideas,  with 
making  verbal  reports,  this  little  prince  of  Wagram, 
of  the  ministerial  Napoleon,  knew  all  the  secrets  of 


52  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

parliamentary  politics;  dragged  in  the  lukewarm, 
fetched,  carried,  and  interred  propositions,  said  the 
ayes  or  nays  that  the  minister  himself  dared  not 
say.  Compelled  to  receive  the  first  fire  and  the 
first  blows  of  despair  or  of  anger,  he  condoled  or 
laughed  with  the  minister.  Mysterious  link  by 
which  many  interests  were  attached  to  the  chlteau, 
and  discreet  as  a  confessor,  he  sometimes  knew 
everything,  and  then  again  he  knew  nothing; 
besides  he  was  able  to  say  of  a  minister  what 
a  minister  would  hesitate  to  say  of  himself.  In 
short,  with  this  political  Hephaestion,  the  minister 
might  dare  to  be  himself;  might  lay  aside  his  wig 
and  his  false  teeth,  might  thrust  aside  formalities 
and  wear  his  slippers,  expose  his  sharp  practices, 
and  lay  bare  his  conscience.  Everything  then  was 
not  a  bed  of  roses  for  des  Lupeaulx ;  he  flattered  and 
advised  his  minister,  he  was  obliged  to  flatter  him 
if  he  wished  to  advise  him,  to  counsel  him  in  flat- 
tering him  and  to  disguise  flattery  under  the  guise 
of  advice.  For  this  reason  nearly  all  political  men 
who  adopt  this  method  have  very  bilious  complex- 
ions. The  habit  they  have  of  constantly  shaking 
their  heads  afiirmatively  in  approval  of  what  has 
been  said,  or  in  order  to  give  the  appearance  of 
doing  so,  gave  a  certain  peculiar  turn  to  their 
heads.  They  agreed  indifferently  to  everything 
said  in  their  hearing.  Their  conversation  was  full 
of  buts,  howevers,  noiwithstandings,  as  for  me,  in 
your  place,  I  would  do — they  often  said  in  your 
place— phr uses,  however,  which  invite  contradiction. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  53 

In  person  Clement  des  Lupeaulx  gave  the  impres- 
sion of  having  been  a  handsome  man;  he  was  five 
feet,  four  inches  tall,  modestly  stout,  his  complexion 
flushed  with  good  cheer,  he  had  a  worn  appearance, 
a  powdered  head,  delicate  little  spectacles;  to  sum 
up,  he  was  blond — which  could  be  seen  by  glanc- 
ing at  his  hand,  which  was  as  plump  as  that  of  an 
old  woman — rather  too  square,  short  nails — the 
hand  of  a  satrap.  His  foot  was  sufficiently  remark- 
able. After  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  des 
Lupeaulx  always  wore  open-work  silk  stockings,  low 
shoes,  black  trousers,  and  a  cashmere  vest,  he  car- 
ried an  unscented  cambric  handkerchief  and  wore 
a  gold  chain ;  he  also  wore  a  coat  of  a  shade  known 
as  "King's  blue,"  with  carved  buttons,  and  the  in- 
signia of  his  orders.  In  the  morning  he  wore  creaking 
boots  under  gray  trousers,  and  the  short,  tight  little 
overcoat  affected  by  politicians.  In  his  appearance 
he  more  closely  resembled  a  cunning  lawyer  than  a 
minister  of  state.  His  eyes  being  glazed  by  the 
constant  use  of  spectacles,  made  him  appear  uglier 
than  he  really  was,  that  is  when  he  by  mischance 
removed  his  glasses.  To  skilful  judges,  to  upright 
men  who  are  only  at  their  ease  with  truthful  men, 
des  Lupeaulx  was  insupportable.  For  his  gracious 
manners  hid  his  lies,  his  agreeable  protestations, 
his  old-time  compliments — always  new  to  the  fool- 
ish— showed  but  too  plainly  what  he  was.  Every 
observing  man  saw  in  him  a  rotten  plank  on  which 
one  should  be  very  careful  not  to  step.  No  sooner 
had  the  beautiful  Madame   Rabourdin  deigned  to 


54  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

interest  herself  in  the  administrative  advancement 
of  her  husband,  than  she  became  acquainted  with 
Clement  des  Lupeaulx,  and  studied  his  character, 
thinking  perchance  she  might  find  in  this  scantling 
some  ligneous  fibres  solid  enough  for  her  to  step 
across  from  the  bureau  to  the  department,  from  a 
salary  of  eight  thousand  to  twelve  thousand  francs. 
This  brilliant  woman  thought  herself  competent  to 
play  with  this  political  roue.  Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx 
then  was  partly  the  cause  of  the  extraordinary 
expenses  which  were  now  made  and  were  continued 
in  the  Rabourdin  household. 


Rue  Duphot,  built  under  the  Empire,  is  remark- 
able for  the  elegant  exterior  of  some  of  the  houses, 
containing  as  a  general  rule  apartments  which  were 
very  well-planned.  The  one  occupied  by  Madame 
Rabourdin  was  especially  well-arranged,  an  advan- 
tage which  counts  for  a  great  deal  in  the  elegance 
of  a  home.  A  beautiful  ante-chamber,  of  consider- 
able size,  lighted  from  the  court,  led  to  a  large  salon, 
the  windows  of  which  looked  out  on  the  street.  At 
the  right  of  this  salon  were  Rabourdin's  study  and 
bed-room,  and  behind  them  the  dining-room,  which  ^ 
was  entered  through  the  ante-chamber ;  to  the  left 
was  Madame  Rabourdin's  bed-room  and  her  dressing- 
room,  behind  which  was  the  little  bed-room  of  her 
daughter.  On  reception  days  the  door  of  Rabour- 
din's study  and  also  the  door  of  Madame  Rabourdin's 
bed-room  were  thrown  open.  The  rooms  were  thus 
large  enough  to  entertain  a  select  company,  without 
exciting  the  ridicule  which  weighs  so  heavily  on 
certain  middle-class  receptions,  where  the  extra 
preparations,  made  at  the  expense  of  daily  comfort, 
show  the  infrequency  of  the  occasion.  The  draw- 
ing-room had  just  been  redraped  in  yellow  silk  with 
light-brown  colored  trimmings.  Madame  Rabour- 
din's bed-room  was  upholstered  in  chintz  of  a  bright 
blue  color,  and  was  furnished  in  the  rococo  style. 
Rabourdin's  study  had  fallen  heir  to  the  hangings 
(55) 


56  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

from  the  old  drawing-room,  which  had  been  reju- 
venated, it  was  also  adorned  by  the  beautiful  pic- 
tures which  had  been  left  by  Leprince.  The  daughter 
of  the  late  appraiser  utilized  in  her  dining-room 
the  exquisite  Turkish  rugs,  which  her  father  had 
bought  at  a  bargain,  by  placing  them  as  panels 
framed  in  old  ebony,  which  has  since  become  very 
costly.  Elegant  buffets  designed  by  BouUe,  also 
bought  by  the  late  appraiser,  ornamented  the  wall  of 
this  room,  in  the  centre  of  which  sparkled  the  brass 
arabesques  inlaid  with  tortoise-shell,  which  deco- 
rated the  first  pedestal  clock  which  had  been  made 
after  the  patterns  of  the  XVII.  Century,  and  set  the 
then  present  fashion.  Flowers  perfumed  this  apart- 
ment, furnished  so  tastefully,  and  containing  so 
many  beautiful  things,  where  each  detail  was  a 
work  of  art  well  placed  and  well  surrounded ;  where 
Madame  Rabourdin — dressed  with  that  peculiar 
simplicity  which  artists  affect — appeared  like  a 
woman  accustomed  to  these  possessions ;  she  never 
spoke  of  them,  but  allowed  the  charms  of  her  mind 
to  complete  the  effect  produced  upon  her  guests  by 
this  ensemble.  Thanks  to  her  father,  since  rococo 
style  had  become  the  fashion,  everyone  spoke  of 
Celestine. 

Accustomed  as  des  Lupeaulx  was  to  false  as  well 
as  to  real  magnificence  of  all  kinds,  he  was  sur- 
prised when  he  went  to  Madame  Rabourdin's  house. 
The  fascination  which  seized  this  Parisian  Asmodeus 
may  be  explained  by  a  comparison.  Let  us  imagine 
a  traveler  fatigued  with  the  rich  aspects  of  Italy, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  57 

Brazil  or  the  Indies,  on  returning  to  his  country 
finding  on  his  way  a  delightful  little  lake,  for 
instance,  like  Lake  d'Orta,  at  the  foot  of  Monte 
Rosa,  an  island  beautifully  placed  on  its  calm  waters, 
bewitching  and  at  the  same  time  simple,  wild  but 
nevertheless  beautiful,  standing  alone,  but  well  sur- 
rounded; elegant  groves,  and  statues  effectively 
placed.  Beyond,  shores  both  wild  and  cultivated ; 
grandeur  and  confusion  without,  while  within, 
everything  is  of  usual  size.  The  world  which  the 
traveler  has  seen  is  represented  there  in  miniature 
modest  and  pure ;  his  soul  refreshed,  invites  him  to 
rest  there,  for  a  poetic  and  melodious  charm  sur- 
rounds him  with  harmonious  thoughts,  and  awakens 
all  his  ideas.  This  represents  at  the  same  time  a 
monastery  and  the  world!  A  few  days  earlier  the 
beautiful  Madame  Firmiani,  one  of  the  most  fasci- 
nating women  of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  who 
liked  and  visited  Madame  Rabourdin,  said  to  des 
Lupeaulx — whom  she  had  especially  invited  to  hear 
this  remark:  "Why  do  you  not  go  to  see 
Madame — ?"  looking  toward  Celestine.  She  has 
delightful  evenings,  and  what  is  more,  she  gives 
dinners — better  than  mine.  **  Des  Lupeaulx  allowed 
himself  to  be  persuaded  into  promising  to  call  by 
the  beautiful  Madame  Rabourdin,  who  for  the  first 
time  raised  her  eyes  to  his  while  speaking.  And 
he  went  to  Rue  Duphot,  does  not  that  tell  every- 
thing? Figaro  says  woman  has  only  one  ruse,  but 
that  is  infallible.  When  des  Lupeaulx  first  dined 
at  the  house  of  this    unimportant  head-clerk,  he 


$8  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

promised  himself  that  he  would  dine  there  occa- 
sionally. Thanks  to  the  perfectly  proper  and  con- 
ventional manoeuvres  of  this  charming  woman, 
whom  her  rival,  Madame  CoUeville,  called  the 
Cilimhie  of  Rue  Duphot,  he  had  dined  there  every 
Friday  for  the  past  month,  and  had  returned  of  his 
own  free  will  to  drink  a  cup  of  tea  every  Wednes- 
day. For  some  days  past,  Madame  Rabourdin, 
thanks  to  her  wise  and  fine  powers  of  perception, 
thought  she  had  found  in  this  ministerial  plank  a 
spot  where  she  might  place  her  foot.  She  no  longer 
doubted  her  success.  Her  inward  joy  can  only  be 
understood  in  the  homes  of  government  officials  who 
for  three  or  four  years  have  looked  forward  to  pros- 
perity as  the  result  of  attaining  the  longed-for  and 
cherished  appointment  How  many  troubles  are 
appeased!  how  many  good  wishes  given  to  the 
ministerial  divinities!  How  many  visits  are  made 
for  self-interest!  At  last,  thanks  to  her  boldness, 
Madame  Rabourdin  heard  the  hour  strike,  when  she 
was  to  have  twenty  thousand  francs  a  year  instead 
of  eight  thousand. 

And  I  shall  have  managed  well,  she  said  to  her- 
self. I  have  been  under  some  expense;  but  in  this 
age  no  one  seeks  merit  that  hides  itself,  whereas  if 
one  keeps  one's  self  well  in  sight,  before  the  world, 
and  cultivates  opportunities,  and  extends  them,  he 
becomes  a  man  of  consequence.  After  all,  min- 
isters of  state  and  their  friends  are  only  interested 
in  the  people  whom  they  see,  and  Rabourdin  takes 
everything  on  trust!     If  I  had  not  cajoled  these 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  59 

three  deputies,  perhaps  they  would  have  wanted 
de  la  Billardi^re's  place  themselves;  whereas  now, 
entertained  at  my  house,  they  would  be  ashamed 
to  ask  this — so  they  become  our  supporters  instead 
of  our  rivals.  I  have  in  a  measure  played  the 
coquette,  but  1  am  happy  to  know  that  the  first 
nonsense  with  which  men  are  amused  has  been 
sufficient 

The  day  on  which  a  serious  and  unforeseen  strug- 
gle took  place  about  this  appointment  after  a  minis- 
terial dinner  which  preceded  one  of  these  receptions 
which  ministers  regard  as  public,  des  Lupeaulx  was 
by  the  fire-place  near  the  wife  of  the  minister. 
While  taking  his  cup  of  coffee  he  again  included 
Madame  Rabourdin  among  the  seven  or  eight  really 
superior  women  of  Paris.  Many  times  he  had 
staked  Madame  Rabourdin  like  Corporal  Trim 
staked  his  cap. 

"Do  not  say  that  too  often,  dear  friend,  or  you 
will  injure  her,"  said  the  wife  of  the  minister  to 
him,  half  laughingly. 

No  woman  likes  to  hear  another  woman  praised  in 
her  presence;  she  reserves  her  opinion  in  that  case, 
so  as  to  embitter  the  praise. 

"Poor  La  Billardi^re  is  dying,"  remarked  His 
Excellency,  "the  administrative  succession  falls  to 
Rabourdin,  one  of  our  most  able  men,  to  whom  our 
predecessors  have  not  behaved  well,  although  one 
of  them  owed  his  position  as  Prefect  of  Police 
under  the  Empire  to  a  certain  salaried  personage 
who  was  interested  in  Rabourdin.     Frankly,  dear 


60  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

friend,  you  are  yet  young  enough  to  be  loved  for 
yourself — " 

"If  La  Billardiere's  place  is  given  to  Rabourdin, 
I  may  be  believed  when  I  praise  the  superiority  of 
his  wife,"  replied  des  Lupeaulx,  piqued  by  the 
minister's  sarcasm,  "but  if  the  countess  would  judge 
for  herself — " 

"Shall  I  invite  her  to  my  next  ball,  yes?  Your 
superior  woman  will  arrive  when  the  women  are 
present  who  come  here  to  ridicule  us,  and  when 
they  hear  the  name  Madame  Rabourdin  an- 
nounced— '* 

"But  is  not  Madame  Firmiani  received  at  the 
house  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  ? " 

"She  was  born  a  Cadignan!" — said  the  new 
count  quickly  in  turning  a  fierce  glance  toward  his 
secretary-general,  for  neither  he  nor  his  wife  were 
noble. 

Many  people  thought  that  important  affairs  were 
being  discussed,  and  the  office-seekers  stayed  at  the 
other  end  of  the  room.  When  des  Lupeaulx  left, 
the  new  countess  said  to  her  husband : 

"I  believe  des  Lupeaulx  is  in  love!  ** 

"Then  it  is  the  first  time  in  his  life,"  he  replied, 
shrugging  his  shoulders,  as  much  as  to  say  to  his 
wife  that  des  Lupeaulx  did  not  occupy  himself  with 
trifles. 

The  minister  then  saw  a  Deputy  of  the  Right 
Centre  enter  and  he  left  his  wife  to  try  to  influence 
an  undecided  vote.  But  this  Deputy,  under  the 
blow  of  an  unforeseen  and  overwhelming  disaster, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  6l 

wished  to  gain  protection  and  lie  had  just  announced 
the  secret  that  in  a  few  days  he  would  be  obliged 
to  tender  his  resignation.  Thus  forewarned,  the 
minister  would  be  able  to  use  his  batteries  before 
those  of  the  opposition. 

The  minister,  that  is  to  say  des  Lupeaulx,  had  in- 
vited to  dine  with  him  a  person  who  had  remained 
irremovably  placed  under  all  the  ministries,  a  person 
who  suffered  very  much  from  embarrassment,  and 
who  in  his  desire  to  gain  a  dignified  expression  of 
countenance,  stood  motionless  on  his  two  legs, 
placed  close  together  like  those  of  an  Egyptian 
mummy.  This  functionary  waited  near  the  fire- 
place at  the  moment  when  he  was  thanking  the 
secretary-general,  whose  abrupt  and  unlooked  for 
retreat  disconcerted  him  just  as  he  was  about  to 
pay  a  compliment  This  man  was  purely  and 
simply  the  cashier  at  the  ministry,  he  was  the  only 
clerk  who  did  not  tremble  when  the  government 
changed  hands.  At  this  time  the  Chamber  of  Dep- 
uties did  not  meddle  meanly  with  the  budget,  as  it 
does  in  the  degenerate  days  in  which  we  live;  it 
did  not  contemptibly  reduce  the  ministerial  emolu- 
ments, or  save — as  the  saying  is,  in  kitchen  par- 
lance— the  candle  ends  in  order  to  economize,  it 
accorded  to  each  minister  taking  charge  of  a  depart- 
ment, an  indemnity  called  an  out/it.  It  costs,  alas! 
as  much  to  enter  the  Service  as  to  retire  from  it,  and 
the  newcomer  is  confronted  by  expenses  of  all  kinds 
which  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  foresee.  This  indem- 
nity consists  of  the  snug  little  sum  of  twenty-five 


62  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

thousand  francs.  When  the  decisions  appeared 
in  the  Moniteur,  the  greater  and  less  officials  clus- 
tered around  the  stoves  or  before  the  fire-places, 
being  shaken  by  the  political  storm,  said  to  each 
other:  "What  will  this  one  do?  will  he  increase  the 
number  of  clerks  ?  will  he  dismiss  two  in  order  to 
put  in  three  to  fill  their  places  ? "  The  calm  cashier 
took  twenty-five  beautiful  bank-notes,  pinned  them 
together,  while  on  his  beadle's  solemn  face  there 
rested  a  joyous  expression.  He  climbed  up  the 
stairs  of  the  apartments  and  had  himself  presented 
to  the  minister,  at  his  reception,  by  people  who 
confounded,  as  one  and  the  same  power,  the  money 
and  the  guardian  of  that  money,  the  contents  and 
the  man  who  took  charge  of  it,  the  idea  and  the 
form.  The  cashier  seized  the  ministerial  couple  at 
the  dawn  of  official  ecstasy,  during  which  period  a 
statesman  is  benign  and  good-natured.  To  the 
What  do  you  want?  by  which  the  minister  addressed 
him,  he  replied  by  showing  the  bank-notes,  at  the 
same  time  saying  that  he  had  hastened  to  bring  His 
Excellency  the  usual  indemnity.  He  explained 
the  motives  to  the  minister's  wife,  who  was  aston- 
ished as  well  as  delighted,  and  who  never  failed  to 
take  some  of  it,  and  often  all.  An  outfit  is  a  house- 
hold affair.  The  cashier  then  turned  a  compliment, 
and  spoke  a  few  elegant  phrases  to  monseigneur : 
*'If  His  Excellency  would  deign  to  retain  him,  if, 
satisfied  with  his  services,  which  were  purely 
mechanical,  if,  etc."  As  a  man  who  brings  twenty- 
five  thousand  francs  is  always  a  worthy  clerk,  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  63 

cashier  did  not  leave  without  hearing  that  his  posi- 
tion was  assured,  this  position  whence  he  had 
seen  many  ministers  come,  go  and  die  during  twenty- 
five  years.  Then  he  placed  himself  at  the  service 
of  the  minister's  wife,  he  brought  the  monthly 
thirteen  thousand  francs  at  a  useful  time,  he 
advanced  them  or  held  them  back  as  ordered,  and, 
according  to  an  old  monastic  saying,  he  in  this  way 
managed  to  get  a  voice  in  the  chapter. 

Formerly  bookkeeper  at  the  Treasury,  when 
the  Treasury  kept  its  books  by  double-entry,  Sieur 
Saillard  was  indemnified  for  the  loss  of  that  posi- 
tion, by  his  present  position  as  cashier.  He  was  a 
large,  stout,  good  kind  of  man,  very  strong  in  the 
matter  of  bookkeeping,  very  weak  in  everything 
else,  round  as  a  cipher,  simple  as  possible,  and  he 
walked  to  the  office  with  measured  steps  like  those 
of  an  elephant,  and  returned  in  the  same  manner  to 
the  Place  Royale,  where  he  lived  on  the  ground  floor 
of  an  old  house  which  he  owned.  As  companion 
in  his  walks  to  and  fro  he  had  Monsieur  Isidore 
Baudoyer,  head  of  a  bureau  in  the  department  of 
Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re,  one  of  Rabourdin's 
colleagues,  who  had  married  Elisabeth  Saillard, 
Monsieur  Saillard's  only  daughter,  and  who  had 
therefore  naturally  taken  an  apartment  above  his. 
No  one  at  the  ministry  doubted  that  Saillard 
was  a  fool,  but  no  one  could  tell  how  far  his  stu- 
pidity would  go;  it  was  too  compact  to  be  examined, 
it  did  not  ring  hollow;  it  absorbed  everything  and 
gave  nothing.      Bixiou — a  clerk  of  whom   I  will 


64  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

speak  later  on — made  a  caricature  of  the  cashier 
by  drawing  a  head  dressed  with  a  wig,  at  the  top 
of  an  egg,  and  two  little  limbs  beneath,  with  this 
inscription:  "Born  to  pay  and  to  receive  with- 
out ever  blundering.  A  little  less  luck,  and  he 
might  have  been  messenger  to  the  Bank  of  France; 
a  little  more  ambition  and  he  might  have  been 
discharged." 

At  this  time,  the  minister  regarded  his  cashier 
as  we  regard  a  curtain  or  a  cornice,  without  think- 
ing that  the  ornament  can  hear  our  conversations, 
or  understand  our  inward  thoughts. 

"I  would  advise,  as  nearly  as  possible,  that  we 
should  settle  everything  with  the  prefect  in  the 
most  secret  manner,  because  des  Lupeaulx  wishes 
the  place  for  himself,"  said  the  minister  to  the 
deposed  Deputy,  "his  small  estate  is  in  your  arron- 
dissement,  and  we  do  not  want  him  to  have  the 
position." 

"He  has  not  the  qualifications,  nor  is  he  old 
enough,"  said  the  Deputy. 

"Yes,  but  you  know  how  the  question  of  age  was 
decided  for  Casimer  Perier.  As  to  worldly  goods, 
des  Lupeaulx  possesses  something,  though  not 
much;  but  the  law  has  not  foreseen  its  possibly 
great  increase  in  value — commissions  have  wide 
margins  for  the  Deputies  of  the  Centre,  and  we 
cannot  ostensibly  oppose  the  good-will  that  is  shown 
to  this  dear  friend." 

"But  where  could  he  get  the  money  for  these 
acquisitions.?" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  65 

"And  how  did  Manuel  come  to  possess  a  house 
in  Paris?  "  said  the  minister. 

The  cashier  listened,  but  very  reluctantly.  These 
rapid  remarks,  although  they  were  spoken  softly, 
struck  Saillard's  ear  by  one  of  those  acoustic 
rebounds  which  are  not  yet  well  understood.  Do 
you  know  what  feeling  took  possession  of  this  good 
man  when  he  heard  these  political  secrets?  Extreme 
terror.  He  was  one  of  those  simple-minded  persons 
who  hate  to  appear  to  be  listening  to  what  they 
should  not  hear,  to  enter  where  they  are  not  invited, 
to  appear  bold  when  they  are  timid,  inquisitive 
when  they  are  discreet.  The  cashier  glided  along 
the  carpet  so  as  to  withdraw,  and  when  the  min- 
ister perceived  his  presence  he  was  some  distance 
away.  Saillard  was  a  ministerial  fanatic  incapable 
of  the  least  indiscretion;  if  the  minister  had  had 
any  idea  that  he  had  overheard  the  secret,  he  would 
only  have  had  to  say  to  him  Moius!  The  cashier 
profited  by  the  influx  of  office-seekers,  called  a  cab, 
hired  by  the  hour  for  those  costly  entertainments, 
and  returned  to  his  house  in  the  Place  Royale. 

While  the  father  Saillard  was  driving  through 
Paris,  his  son-in-law  and  his  dear  Elisabeth  were 
playing  a  virtuous  game  of  boston  with  the  Abbe 
Gaudron,  their  confessor,  in  company  with  a  few  of 
their  neighbors,  and  a  certain  Martin  Falleix,  a 
brass-founder  in  the  Faubourg  Saint-Antoine,  to 
whom  Saillard  had  loaned  the  funds  necessary  to 
establish  the  business  on  a  favorable  footing.  This 
Falleix,  a  respectable  Auvergnat,  had  come  with 
5 


66  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

his  brazier  on  his  back  and  had  been  immediately 
employed  by  the  firm  of  Brezac,  which  was  chiefly 
engaged  in  dismantling  chMeaux.  Martin  Falleix 
was  about  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  and  as  much 
spoiled  by  success  as  anyone  else;  he  had  the  good 
fortune  to  possess  an  interest  in  the  business  through 
Monsieur  Saillard,  for  having  worked  out  a  discovery 
in  smelting — patent  of  invention  and  gold  medal  of 
the  Exposition  of  1825.  Madame  Baudoyer,  whose 
only  daughter  was  treading — to  use  an  expression 
of  old  Saillard — at  the  tail  end  of  her  twelve  years, 
had  fixed  her  choice  on  Falleix,  a  thick-set,  swarthy, 
active  fellow  of  strict  integrity,  whose  education 
she  was  directing.  According  to  her  ideas  this 
education  consisted  in  teaching  this  brave  Auvergnat 
to  play  boston,  to  hold  his  cards  properly,  and  to  let 
no  one  see  his  hand,  to  be  well-shaved  before  com- 
ing to  the  house,  to  clean  his  hands  by  using  ordi- 
nary bar  soap;  not  to  swear,  to  speak  their  French, 
to  wear  boots  instead  of  shoes,  to  wear  calico  shirt? 
instead  of  sacking,  to  brush  his  hair  up  instead  of 
smoothing  it  down.  The  week  before,  Elisabeth 
had  persuaded  Falleix  to  take  off  his  earrings — two 
enormous  flat  rings  resembling  hoops. 

"You  go  too  far,  Madame  Baudoyer,"  he  said,  in 
seeing  her  delight  at  this  sacrifice,  "you  rule  me 
too  strictly;  you  make  me  clean  my  teeth,  and  that 
loosens  them;  you  will  soon  order  me  to  brush  my 
nails,  and  curl  my  hair,  which  will  not  be  appro- 
priate in  our  business;  we  do  not  like  dandies." 

Elisabeth    Baudoyer,    r^e  Saillard,   was  one  of 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  67 

those  persons  who  cannot  be  described  by  reason  of 
their  very  commonness;  yet  who,  nevertheless, 
ought  to  be  sketched;  because  they  are  a  good  type 
of  the  little  Parisian  bourgeoisie  who  occupy  a 
place  above  the  rich  artisan  and  beneath  the  upper 
untitled  class — whose  virtues  are  almost  vices, 
whose  defects  are  never  agreeable,  but  whose  man- 
ners, although  stupid,  do  not  lack  originality. 
Elisabeth  had  a  somewhat  pinched  appearance, 
very  pai  nf ul  to  behold.  Her  form — scarcely  over  four 
feet  high — was  so  thin  that  her  waist  scarcely  meas- 
ured twenty  inches.  Her  fine  features  were  grouped 
about  her  nose,  and  gave  her  face  a  vague  resem- 
blance to  a  weasel's  snout.  After  she  was  over 
thirty  years  of  age  she  had  the  appearance  of  a  girl 
of  sixteen  or  seventeen.  Her  china-blue  eyes,  over- 
hung by  heavy  eyelids,  as  well  as  by  the  arch 
of  her  eyebrows,  shed  but  little  light.  Everything 
about  her  was  seedy.  Her  light  hair  was  nearly 
white,  and  her  flat  forehead  was  brightened  by 
planes  which  absorbed  the  light,  while  her  complex- 
ion was  full  of  gray,  almost  leaden,  tints.  The  lower 
part  of  her  face — more  triangular  than  oval — ter- 
minated in  an  irregular  manner  the  generally  un- 
shapely outline.  Besides,  her  voice  had  a  rather 
pretty  intonation  ranging  from  sharpness  to  sweet- 
ness. Elisabeth  was  a  good  sample  of  the  little 
bourgeoise  who  counsels  her  husband  in  the  even- 
ing, on  his  pillow,  without  taking  the  least  credit 
for  her  virtues.  She  was  ambitious,  but  not  design- 
ing,  and  developed  selfishness  only  in  domestic 


68  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

affairs.  Had  she  lived  in  the  country,  she  would 
have  increased  her  property,  but  now  she  wished  to 
advance  in  the  administration.  To  narrate  the  life 
of  her  father  and  her  mother  is  to  give  a  good  idea 
of  the  woman  by  painting  her  childhood  and  girl- 
hood. 

Monsieur  Saillard  married  the  daughter  of  a  man 
who  dealt  in  furniture,  whose  store  was  under  the 
arcade  of  the  market-place.  Monsieur  and  Madame 
Saillard,  owing  to  their  limited  means,  were  at  first 
obliged  to  endure  constant  privations.  After  having 
been  married  for  thirty-three  years  and  having 
worked  in  the  Civil  Service  for  twenty-nine 
years,  the  property  of  the  Saillards — ^that  is  the 
name  by  which  their  circle  of  acquaintances  called 
them — consisted  of  sixty  thousand  francs  entrusted 
to  Falleix,  the  house  in  the  Place  Royale  bought  for 
forty  thousand  francs  in  1804,  and  thirty-six  thou- 
sand francs  of  dowry  which  they  had  given  to  their 
daughter.  But  of  this  capital,  the  sum  of  about 
fifty  thousand  francs  had  come  to  them  through  the 
will  of  the  widow  Bidault,  Madame  Saillard's 
mother.  Saillard's  salary  had  always  brought  him 
four  thousand  five  hundred  francs,  for  his  position 
was  one  which  led  to  no  promotion,  and  which  for 
a  long  time  had  tempted  no  one.  These  ninety 
thousand  francs,  amassed  cent  by  cent,  were  the 
result  of  petty  economies,  un intelligently  used.  In 
fact  the  Saillards  knew  no  other  manner  of  placing 
their  money  than  to  take  it  in  sums  of  five  thousand 
francs  to  their  notary,  Monsieur  Sorbier,  Cardot's 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  69 

predecessor,  and  to  lend  it  at  five  per  cent  on  first 
mortgage,  with  the  wife's  rights  reserved,  if  the 
borrower  were  married!  In  1804  Madame  Saillard 
obtained  an  office  for  the  sale  of  stamped-paper, 
which  circumstance  made  it  necessary  to  have  a 
servant  in  the  house.  At  this  time  the  house, 
which  was  worth  more  than  a  hundred  thousand 
francs,  rented  for  eight  thousand.  Falleix  contrib- 
uted seven  per  cent  of  his  sixty  thousand  francs, 
besides  an  equal  division  of  the  profits.  Thus  the 
Saillards  enjoyed  at  least  seventeen  thousand  francs 
income.  The  whole  ambition  of  the  good  man  was 
to  obtain  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  on  retir- 
ing from  office. 

Elisabeth  spent  her  youth  in  constant  toil  in  a 
family  whose  manners  were  serious  and  whose 
Ideas  were  limited.  This  family  would  consider 
well  before  buying  a  hat  for  Saillard,  the  number  of 
years  a  coat  had  lasted  were  calculated, the  umbrellas 
were  hung  up  on  a  peg  by  means  of  a  brass  ring. 
The  house  had  not  had  any  repairs  since  1804. 
The  Saillards  kept  the  ground  floor  in  the  same  con- 
dition in  which  the  previous  owner  had  left  it;  the 
gilding  had  peeled  off  of  the  frames  of  the  pier- 
glasses,  the  frescoes  over  the  doors  were  scarcely 
visible,  owing  to  the  dust  which  had  lodged  there  all 
those  years.  In  these  large  and  beautiful  rooms  the 
sculptured  marble  mantel-pieces  were  still  to  be 
seen,  also  the  ceilings  worthy  of  Versailles,  and  the 
old  furniture  from  the  house  of  the  widow  Bidault 
These  consisted  of  walnut  arm-chairs,  disjointed 


70  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

and  covered  with  tapestry  rose-wood  bureaus,  with 
hall  centre-tables  decorated  with  brass  ornaments, 
and  having  white  marble  tops  which  were  cracked; 
one  superb  BouUe  secretary,  the  value  of  which 
fashion  had  not  yet  recognized;  beside  a  chaos  of 
bargains  which  had  been  purchased  by  the  widow 
of  the  merchant,  whose  store  was  in  the  arcade  of 
the  market-place :  pictures  bought  for  the  beauty  of 
their  frames ;  crockery  of  composite  designs,  that  is 
to  say,  a  dessert  service  of  magnificent  Japanese 
plates,  while  the  rest  of  the  set  was  of  various 
makes ;  silver-plate  which  did  not  match,  old  glass, 
fine  damask,  and  a  four-post  canopied  bedstead 
hung  with  chintz,  and  a  feather  bed. 

Amid  all  these  relics  Madame  Saillard  always  sat 
in  a  modern  mahogany  easy-chair.  Her  feet  placed 
on  a  foot- warmer  were  well  toasted.  She  drew  her 
chair  near  a  fire-place  full  of  ashes,  but  without 
fire,  while  on  top  of  the  mantel-piece  were  an  orna- 
mented panel,  antique  bronzes,  and  candelabra 
ornamented  with  flowers,  but  containing  no  candles, 
for  she  lighted  the  room  by  means  of  a  candle  which, 
owing  to  the  drippings,  had  the  appearance  of  being 
fluted  and  which  stood  in  a  flat  brass  candlestick. 
Madame  Saillard's  countenance  was  one  which,  not- 
withstanding the  wrinkles,  showed  the  marks  of  ob- 
stinacy and  severity,  limited  ideas,  an  all-around 
probity,  a  religion  without  compassion,  artless  ava- 
rice and  the  peace  of  a  good  conscience.  In  certain 
Flemish  pictures,  one  may  see  the  wives  of  the 
burgomasters    formed    by   nature   after  the  same 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  Jl 

pattern,  and  wonderfully  well  reproduced  in  the 
painting;  but  they  are  clad  in  beautiful  velvet  robes 
or  precious  stuffs,  while  Madame  Saillard  had  no  cos- 
tumes, except  that  antique  garment  called  in  Tou- 
raine  and  Picardy  cottes,  or  more  generally  in  France, 
petticoats,  a  kind  of  skirts  pleated  behind  and  at 
the  sides,  worn  one  over  the  other.  Her  body  was 
enclosed  in  a  jacket,  another  fashion  of  a  by- 
gone age!  She  continued  to  wear  the  butterfly 
bonnet,  and  shoes  with  high  heels.  Although  she 
was  fifty-seven  years  old,  and  from  having  worked 
so  faithfully  in  household  duties  she  might  now 
feel  herself  entitled  to  some  rest,  she  knitted 
her  husband's  stockings,  her  own  and  her  uncle's, 
as  the  country  women  knit  while  walking,  speak- 
ing, taking  the  air  in  the  garden  or  in  looking 
around  the  kitchen  to  see  what  is  going  on  there. 

The  Saillards'  avarice,  at  first  the  result  of  neces- 
sity, had  become  habitual.  The  cashier,  on  return- 
ing from  the  office,  took  off  his  coat,  and  worked 
with  his  own  hands  in  the  beautiful  garden  shut  off 
from  the  court  by  a  railing,  and  which  was  devoted 
to  their  exclusive  use.  For  some  time  Elisabeth 
accompanied  her  mother  to  market  every  morning, 
and  these  two  attended  to  all  the  domestic  depart- 
ment Her  mother  knew  how  to  cook  a  duck  dressed 
with  turnips  in  the  most  delicious  manner,  but 
according  to  Saillard,  Elisabeth  knew  how  to  hash 
what  was  left  over  of  a  leg  of  mutton  with  onions, 
so  as  to  distance  all  rivals.  "One  might  eat 
one's  uncle  in  that  dish  without  being  any  the 


^2  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

wiser,"  he  used  to  remark.  As  soon  as  Elisabeth 
knew  how  to  use  her  needle,  her  mother  assigned 
to  her  the  mending  of  the  house  linen  and  her 
father's  clothes.  As  she  was  incessantly  occupied 
in  menial  work,  she  never  went  out  alone.  Al- 
though she  lived  but  a  few  steps  from  thg  Boulevard 
du  Temple,  where  Franconi,  la  Gaiete,  I'Ambigu- 
Comique  were,  while  further  on  was  the  Porte- 
Saint-Martin,  Elisabeth  had  never  gone  to  the 
play.  When  she  thought  she  would  like  to  see 
what  was  going  on  there— with  the  permission  of 
Monsieur  Gaudron,  of  course — Monsieur  Baudoyer 
took  her,  at  great  expense,  and  showed  her  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  sights,  the  Opera,  where  they  were 
then  playing  The  Chinese  Plowman.  Elisabeth 
thought  the  play  as  tantalizing  as  flies,  and  had  no 
desire  to  go  there  again.  On  Sundays,  after  having 
walked  four  times  from  the  Place  Royale  to  Saint- 
Paul's  church  and  back — for  the  mother  made  her 
conform  strictly  to  the  precepts  and  duties  belong- 
ing to  religion — her  father  and  mother  took  her  to 
the  Turkish  Cafe,  where  they  seated  themselves  on 
chairs  placed  between  a  barrier  and  the  wall.  The 
Saillards  hurried  to  be  there  among  the  first,  so  that 
they  could  get  the  best  seats,  and  could  also  amuse 
themselves  watching  the  people  as  they  passed.  At 
this  time  the  Turkish  Cafe  was  the  rendezvous  of  the 
fashionable  society  of  the  Marais,the  Faubourg  Saint- 
Antoine,  and  of  the  people  living  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  those  places.  In  summer  Elisabeth  had 
never  worn  anything  but  cotton  gowns,  and  in  winter 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  73 

merino;  these  she  made  herself.  Her  mother  only 
gave  her  twenty  francs  a  month  for  her  expenses, 
but  her  father,  who  loved  her  dearly,  tempered  this 
strictness  by  giving  her  a  few  presents.  She  never 
read  books  which  the  Abbe  Gaudron — vicar  of 
Saint-Paul,  and  family  adviser — called  profane. 
This  regime  had  borne  its  fruits.  Elisabeth  found 
it  necessary  to  give  way  to  her  feelings  in  some 
direction,  and  so  she  became  greedy  for  gain, 
although  she  lacked  neither  sense  nor  perspicacity ; 
but  her  religious  theories  and  her  ignorance  had 
combined  to  limit  the  workings  of  her  mind,  as 
though  bound  with  an  iron  band.  She  only  thought 
about  the  most  common-place  events,  and  such 
thoughts  as  she  had  were  soon  exhausted  on  a  few 
points  of  the  question.  She  threw  her  whole  soul 
into  the  matter  she  had  on  hand.  Repressed  by 
her  religious  observances,  the  natural  scope  of  her 
intelligence  could  only  be  employed  within  the 
limit  set  by  her  conscience,  which  formed  a  mind 
stored  with  subtleties  in  which  self-interest  chooses 
subterfuges.  Like  those  saintly  personages  in 
whom  religion  has  not  stifled  ambition,  she  was 
capable  of  asking  her  neighbors  to  commit  blamable 
deeds  from  which  she  might  reap  all  the  fruit;  on 
such  an  occasion  she  would  have  been,  like  them, 
implacable  as  to  her  dues,  and  dissembling  in  the 
means  of  obtaining  them.  If  offended,  she  would 
have  watched  her  adversaries  with  the  perfidious 
patience  of  a  cat,  and  was  capable  of  successfully 
planning  some  cold  and  complete  vengeance,  which 


74  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

she  laid  to  the  account  of  God.  Until  Elisabeth's 
marriage,  the  Saillards  had  no  other  society  than 
that  of  the  Abbe  Gaudron,  a  priest  born  in 
Auvergne,  who  was  made  vicar  of  Saint-Paul,  after 
the  restoration  of  the  Catholic  worship.  Besides  this 
ecclesiastic,  who  was  a  friend  of  the  late  Madame 
Bidault,  there  was  Madame  Saillard's  uncle  on  her 
father's  side,  an  old  paper-dealer,  who  had  retired 
from  business  the  second  year  of  the  Republic;  at 
this  time  he  was  sixty-nine  years  of  age,  and  he 
only  came  to  see  them  on  a  Sunday,  because  there 
was  no  business  done  on  that  day. 

This  little  old  man  had  a  face  of  a  greenish 
hue — the  most  remarkable  feature  of  which  was 
a  nose  as  red  as  that  of  a  drinker — pierced 
with  two  vulture-like  eyes;  his  gray  hair  was 
allowed  to  float  under  a  three-cornered  hat;  he  wore 
breeches  with  flaps  that  extended  considerably 
beyond  the  buckles,  cotton  stockings  of  mixed  colors, 
knitted  by  his  niece,  whom  he  always  called  the 
little  Saillard;  large  shoes  with  silver  buckles,  and 
an  overcoat  of  many  colors.  He  looked  very  much 
like  those  little  sextons — vergers — bell-ringers — 
i  beadles— grave-diggers — parish-clerks  of  the  village, 
who  are  taken  for  the  fancies  of  caricaturists  until 
they  are  seen  performing  their  various  duties.  He 
had  just  now  come  on  foot  to  dine,  and  intended  to 
return  in  the  same  way  to  Rue  Grenetal,  where  he 
lived  on  the  third  floor.  His  business  was  that  of 
discounting  commercial  paper  in  the  Quartier  Saint- 
Martin,  where  he  was   known   by  the   nickname 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  7$ 

of  Gigonnet,  in  consequence  of  the  nervous  and 
convulsive  way  in  which  he  raised  his  leg.  Mon- 
sieur Bidault  had  been  discounting  since  the  year 
II.  in  partnership  with  a  Dutchman,  Sieur  Wer- 
brust,  a  friend  of  Gobseck. 

Later,  in  the  bank  of  the  Saint-Paul  factory,  Sail- 
lard  made  the  acquaintance  of  Monsieur  and  Madame 
Transon,  extensive  dealers  in  pottery,  established 
in  Rue  de  Lesdiguieres,  who  took  a  great  interest 
in  Elisabeth,  and  wlio  introduced  young  Isidore 
Baudoyer  to  the  Saillards,  hoping  that  it  would 
result  in  Elisabeth's  marriage.  The  connection  of 
Monsieur  and  Madame  Baudoyer  with  the  Saillards 
was  strengthened  by  the  approval  of  Gigonnet,  who 
for  some  time  had  employed  a  Sieur  Mitral  in  his 
business,  a  sheriff's  officer,  a  brother  of  Madame 
Baudoyer,  the  mother,  who  was  then  about  to  retire 
to  dwell  in  a  beautiful  house  at  Ile-Adam.  Mon- 
sieur and  Madame  Baudoyer,  Isidore's  father  and 
mother,  highly  respectable  leather-dressers  in  Rue 
Censier,  had  slowly  accumulated  a  comfortable  for- 
tune in  the  regular  course  of  business.  After 
having  married  their  only  son,  to  whom  they 
gave  fifty  thousand  francs,  they  concluded  to  live 
in  the  country,  and  chose  the  neighborhood  of 
Ile-Adam,  where  they  induced  Mitral  to  join  them; 
but  they  frequently  came  to  Paris,  where  they 
kept  a  small  sleeping-apartment  in  the  house  on 
Rue  Censier,  which  they  gave  to  Isidore  on  his 
marriage.  .The  Baudoyers  still  had  an  income 
of  three  thousand  francs,   after  having  deducted 


76  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

the  marriage-portion  which  they  had  given  to 
their  son. 

Monsieur  Mitral  was  a  man  with  an  evil-looking 
wig,  a  face  the  color  of  the  River  Seine,  lighted  by 
two  Spanish-tobacco  colored  eyes,  as  cold  as  a  well- 
rope,  and  was  always  smelling  a  mouse,  and  kept  the 
secret  of  his  income;  but  he  no  doubt  worked  in  his 
own  corner,  as  Gigonnet  worked  in  the  Quartier 
Saint-Martin. 

Although  the  circle  of  this  family  increased, 
neither  their  ideas  nor  their  manners  changed. 
The  saint's  days  of  father,  mother,  son-in-law, 
daughter  and  grand-daughter,  and  the  anniversaries 
of  the  births  and  marriages  were  all  celebrated,  as 
were  also  Easter,  Christmas,  New  Year's  Day,  and 
Twelfth  Day.  These  festivals  were  the  occasion  of 
great  sweepings  and  general  cleaning  up  of  the 
house,  which  added  utility  to  the  pleasures  of  these 
domestic  ceremonies.  Then  followed  the  offerings 
given  with  much  ceremony  and  accompanied  with 
bouquets,  and  useful  presents,  a  pair  of  silk  stock- 
ings: a  fur  cap  for  Saillard,  gold  earrings,  a  silver 
dish  for  Elisabeth,  or  for  her  husband,  to  whom,  little 
by  little,  a  whole  service  of  plate  was  being  given; 
silk  skirts  for  Madame  Saillard,  who  kept  them  in 
the  piece.  Before  receiving  the  present  the  recip- 
ient was  seated  in  an  arm-chair  and  asked  for  a 
certain  length  of  time : 

"Guess  what  we  are  going  to  give  you? ** 

Then  came  a  splendid  dinner,  which  lasted  five 
hours,  to  which  were  invited  the  Abbe  Gaudron, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  77 

Falleix,  Rabourdin,  Monsieur  Godard,  formerly 
deputy-chief  to  Monsieur  Baudoyer;  Monsieur  Ba- 
taille,  captain  of  the  company  to  which  the  son- 
in-law  and  father-in-law  belonged.  Monsieur  Car- 
dot,  who  was  naturally  invited,  did  as  Rabourdin, 
he  accepted  one  invitation  out  of  six.  At  dessert 
the  company  sang,  and  enthusiastically  embraced 
each  other,  at  the  same  time  extending  wishes  for 
all  manner  of  happiness.  They  showed  their  pres- 
ents, at  the  same  time  asking  their  guests  what 
they  thought  of  them.  The  day  when  Saillard 
received  the  fur-cap  he  kept  it  on  his  head  during 
dessert,  much  to  the  general  satisfaction.  In  the 
evening  those  who  were  merely  acquaintances  came, 
and  there  was  a  dance.  The  dancing  went  on  for 
some  time  to  the  music  of  only  one  violin,  but  for 
the  last  six  years  Monsieur  Godard,  who  was  a 
great  flute-player,  contributed  to  the  festival  by 
adding  the  music  of  a  piercing  flageolet.  The  cook, 
Madame  Baudoyer's  nurse,  old  Catherine,  Madame 
Saillard's  servant,  and  the  porter  or  his  wife  stood 
in  the  doorway  of  the  salon  to  look  on.  The  ser- 
vants then  received  three  francs  to  buy  for  them- 
selves wine  or  coffee.  This  group  of  people  looked 
upon  Baudoyer  and  Saillard  as  transcendent  beings, 
for  they  were  employed  by  the  government.  They 
had  attained  this  distinction  by  their  merit;  they 
worked,  it  was  said,  with  the  minister  himself;  they 
owed  their  good  fortune  to  their  talents ;  they  were 
politicians;  but  Baudoyer  was  thought  to  be  the 
more  capable.     His  position  as  head  of  a  bureau 


78  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

presupposed  much  more  complicated  duties,  much 
more  arduous  than  that  which  was  necessary  for  the 
position  of  cashier.  Moreover,  Isidore,  though  he 
was  the  son  of  a  leather-dresser  of  Rue  Censier,  had 
had  the  ability  to  study,  the  hardihood  to  renounce 
his  father's  business  and  to  go  into  the  government 
employ,  where  he  had  attained  a  high  position.  In 
short,  being  uncommunicative,  he  was  considered 
a  profound  thinker,  and  perhaps — said  the  Tran- 
sons — he  would  one  day  become  Deputy  of  the 
eighth  arrondissement  While  listening  to  these 
remarks,  Gigonnet  would  often  shut  his  lips  even 
tighter  than  usual,  and  glance  at  his  great-niece 
Elisabeth. 

In  person  Isidore  was  a  man  thirty-seven  years 
of  age,  tall  and  stout,  who  perspired  easily,  and 
whose  head  resembled  that  of  a  person  afflicted 
with  water  on  the  brain.  His  enormous  head,  cov- 
ered with  chestnut  tiair  cut  very  short,  was  joined 
to  his  neck  by  a  roll  of  flesh  which  swelled  out  over 
the  collar  of  his  coat  He  had  arms  like  Hercules, 
and  hands  worthy  of  a  Domitian,  a  stomach  which 
his  sobriety  kept  in  majestic  form,  according  to  the 
saying  of  Brillat-Savarin.  His  face  closely  resem- 
bled that  of  the  Emperor  Alexander.  The  Tartar 
type  could  be  seen  in  his  small  eyes,  in  his  flattened 
nose  turned  up  at  the  end,  in  the  expression  of  his 
mouth  with  its  cold  lips,  and  in  his  short  chin.  His 
forehead  was  low  and  narrow.  Although  of  a  lym- 
phatic temperament,  the  devout  Isidore  was  swayed 
by  excessive  conjugal  passion  which  time  did  not 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  79 

alter.  Notwithstanding  his  resemblance  to  the  firm- 
looking  Russian  Emperor  and  the  terrible  Domitian, 
Isidore  was  nothing  more  than  a  Civil  Service  clerk, 
not  very  capable  as  head  of  the  bureau,  but  formed 
for  routine  work,  who  hid  his  flabby  inability  under 
such  a  thick  covering  that  no  scalpel  could  lay  it 
bare.  When  making  his  severe  studies  he  displayed 
the  patience  and  wisdom  of  an  ox,  and  his  square 
head  had  deceived  his  parents  into  believing  him 
to  be  an  extraordinary  man.  Fastidious  and 
pedantic,  meddlesome  and  talkative,  he  was  the 
dread  of  the  clerks,  to  whom  he  made  continual 
suggestions.  He  exacted  all  the  periods  and  commas, 
rigorously  enforcing  the  rules,  and  being  himself  so 
terribly  punctual  that  no  one  in  his  bureau  failed  to 
be  there  before  him.  Baudoyer  wore  a  blue-bottle 
coat  with  yellow  buttons,  a  chamois  vest,  gray 
trousers  and  a  colored  cravat  He  had  large  feet 
badly  shod.  His  watch-chain  was  ornamented 
with  an  enormous  bunch  of  old  trinkets,  among 
which — as  late  as  1824 — he  still  wore  American 
beans,  which  were  fashionable  in  the  year  VII. 

In  the  bosom  of  this  family,  which  was  bound 
together  by  religious  ties,  by  the  inflexibility  of  its 
manners,  by  one  single  thought — that  of  avarice — 
which  became,  as  it  were  their  compass,  Elisabeth 
was  forced  to  commune  with  herself  instead  of 
imparting  her  thoughts  to  others,  for  she  felt  she 
had  no  equals  who  could  understand  her.  Although 
circumstances  compelled  her  to  judge  her  husband, 
her  devotion  taught  her  to  do  her  best  to  think  of 


80  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Monsieur  Baudoyer  in  as  favorable  a  light  as  possi- 
ble; she  showed  him  great  respect,  and  honored 
him  as  the  father  of  her  daughter;  her  husband,  the 
temporal  power,  as  the  vicar  of  Saint-Paul  said. 
She  would  also  have  regarded  it  as  a  mortal  sin  to 
make  one  gesture,  give  one  glance,  say  one  word, 
which  could  have  revealed  to  the  stranger  her  true 
opinion  of  the  stupid  Baudoyer.  She  professed 
even  a  passive  obedience  to  all  his  wishes.  Every- 
thing that  went  on  in  the  world  reached  her  ears. 
She  thought  about  these  things,  weighed  them  for 
herself,  and  judged  so  well  of  things  and  men  that 
at  the  moment  when  this  history  commences  she 
was  the  secret  oracle  of  the  two  functionaries,  who 
had  both  insensibly  come  to  the  conclusion  to  do 
nothing  without  consulting  her.  Old  Saillard  said 
naively:  "Isn't  that  Elisabeth  shrewd?"  But 
Baudoyer,  who  was  too  foolish  to  escape  being 
puffed  up  by  the  false  reputation  which  he  enjoyed 
in  the  Quartier  Saint-Antoine,  denied  his  wife's 
shrewdness,  at  the  same  time  he  profited  by  it 
Elisabeth  had  foreseen  that  her  uncle  Bidault,  nick- 
named Gigonnet,  would  be  very  rich  and  would 
handle  enormous  sums  of  money.  Enlightened  by 
self-interest  she  had  learned  to  know  Monsieur  des 
Lupeaulx  better  than  the  minister  knew  him. 
Finding  herself  married  to  a  blockhead,  she  naturally 
thought  that  her  life  should  have  been  different,  but 
she  imagined  a  better  lot  without  wishing  for  it 
All  her  tenderest  affections  found  their  nourishment 
in  her  love  for  her  daughter,  to  whom  she  spared 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  8l 

the  troubles  which  she  had  endured  during  her 
childhood,  and  thus  she  thought  that  she  had  her 
share  in  the  world  of  affection.  For  her  daughter's 
sake  alone  she  had  persuaded  her  father  to  take  the 
great  step  of  going  into  partnership  with  Falleix. 
Falleix  had  been  introduced  to  the  Saillards  by  the 
old  Bidault,  who  had  lent  him  some  money  on  his 
merchandise.  Falleix  found  his  old  countryman 
extortionate;  he  complained  with  frankness  before 
the  Saillards  that  Gigonnet  had  taken  eighteen  per 
cent  from  an  Auvergnat.  Old  Madame  Saillard  had 
ventured  to  blame  her  uncle. 

"It  is  just  because  he  is  an  Auvergnat  that  I  only 
demand  eighteen  per  cent  from  him!"  Gigonnet 
replied. 

Falleix,  who  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  hav- 
ing made  a  discovery  and  having  communicated  it 
to  Saillard,  appeared  to  carry  his  heart  in  his  hand 
— one  of  Saillard's  expressions — and  seemed  likely 
to  make  a  large  fortune.  Elisabeth  at  once  conceived 
the  idea  of  nursing  him  for  her  daughter  and  her- 
self training  her  son-in-law,  calculating  thus  seven 
years  ahead.  Martin  Falleix  was  remarkably 
respectful  to  Madame  Baudoyer,  for  in  her  he  recog- 
nized a  superior  mind.  If  later  he  were  to  have 
millions,  he  should  always  belong  to  her  family, 
where  he  saw  something  of  family  life.  Little 
Mademoiselle  Baudoyer  was  already  in  the  habit  of 
bringing  him  his  glass  gracefully,  and  taking  his  hat 


Just  as  Monsieur  Saillard  was  returning  from  the 
minister's  house,  the  game  of  boston  was  at  its 
height.  Elisabeth  was  giving  advice  to  Falleix. 
Madame  Saillard  was  knitting  in  the  chimney-cor- 
ner, regarding  the  cards  of  the  vicar  of  Saint-Paul. 
Monsieur  Baudoyer,  as  still  as  a  post,  was  employ- 
ing his  mind  in  calculating  who  had  the  cards,  and 
sat  facing  Mitral,  who  had  come  from  Ile-Adam 
for  the  Christmas  festivities.  No  one  disturbed 
himself  when  the  cashier  entered.  He  walked  up  and 
down  the  salon  for  some  minutes,  his  fat  face  con- 
tracted by  unusual  meditation. 

"He  is  always  in  this  mood  when  he  dines  at  the 
minister's  house,  which  luckily  happens  only 
twice  a  year,  otherwise  it  would  be  the  end  of  me," 
said  Madame  Saillard.  "Saillard  is  not  made  for 
the  Civil  Service.  Ah!  now!  I  hope,  Saillard," 
she  said  in  a  loud  voice,  "that  you  will  not  keep  on 
your  silk  breeches  and  that  Elbeuf  cloth  coat  here. 
Come,  then,  take  them  all  off;  there  is  no  use  in 
wearing  them  out  here,  ma  mire." 

"Something  ails  your  father,"  said  Baudoyer  to 
his  wife  when  the  cashier  was  in  his  room,  undress- 
ing without  any  fire. 

"Perhaps  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re  is  dead," 
Elisabeth  quietly  remarked ;  "and  as  he  desires  that 
(83) 


84  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

you  should  replace  him,  that  is  the  cause  of  his 
anxiety." 

"If  I  can  be  useful  in  any  way,"  said  the  vicar 
of  Saint-Paul,  bowing,  "call  upon  me.  I  have  the 
I  honor  to  be  known  to  the  Dauphine.  These  are 
times  when  government  offices  should  be  given  to 
trusted  men,  whose  religious  principles  cannot  be 
shaken." 

"Listen,"  said  Falleix.  "Do  men  of  merit,  then, 
need  protection  to  get  places  in  your  line?  I  chose 
well  in  being  an  iron-founder;  experience  teaches 
where  to  get  articles  of  good  manufacture. — " 

"Sir,"  replied  Baudoyer,  "the  government  is  the 
government.     Never  attack  it  in  this  place." 

"Really,"  said  the  vicar,  "you  speak  like  the 
Constitutionnel." 

"The  Constitutionnel  never  says  anything  else," 
Baudoyer  replied,  although  he  never  read  it. 

The  cashier  believed  that  his  son-in-law  was  as 
superior  in  talent  to  Rabourdin,  as  God  was  greater 
than  Saint-Crepin,  as  he  said;  but  the  goodman 
frankly  wished  for  this  promotion.  Influenced  by 
the  feeling  which  leads  all  government  officials  to 
seek  for  promotion, — a  violent,  unreflecting,  brutal 
passion, — he  desired  success  as  he  desired  the  Cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  without  doing  anything 
against  his  conscience,  and  by  the  force  of  merit 
alone.  According  to  his  views  a  man  who  had  been 
patient  enough  to  stay  twenty-five  years  in  the 
office,  behind  a  railing,  and  had  worn  himself  out 
for  his  country,  had  well  merited  the  Cross  of  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  85 

Legion  of  Honor.  In  order  to  further  the  interests 
of  his  son-in-law  but  one  thing  had  occurred  to  him, 
and  that  was  to  say  a  word  or  two  to  the  wife  of 
His  Excellency  in  handing  her  the  monthly  salary. 

"Well,  Saillard,  you  look  as  though  you  had  lost 
all  your  relations!  Speak  to  us,  my  boy!  Say 
something  to  us,"  cried  his  wife  when  he  returned 
to  the  room. 

Saillard  made  a  sign  toward  his  daughter  and  then 
turned  on  his  heel,  so  that  he  would  not  have  to 
talk  politics  before  strangers.  After  Monsieur 
Mitral  and  the  vicar  had  left,  Saillard  pushed  back 
the  table,  seated  himself  in  an  arm-chair,  and  struck 
the  attitude  he  always  took  when  he  was  going  to 
repeat  some  office-gossip — movements  serving  the 
purpose  of  the  three  knocks  given  at  the  Comedie- 
Frangaise.  After  having  made  his  wife,  his  son- 
in-law  and  his  daughter  promise  the  greatest  secrecy, 
— for  however  trivial  the  gossip,  their  places,  he 
thought,  depended  on  their  discretion, — he  told  them 
this  incomprehensible  enigma  of  the  resignation  of 
a  deputy,  of  the  very  legitimate  desire  of  the  secre- 
tary-general to  be  elected  to  his  place,  of  the  min- 
ister's secret  opposition  to  the  wish  of  one  of  his 
firmest  supporters,  one  of  his  most  zealous  workers; 
then  came  the  question  of  age  and  qualification. 
This  gave  rise  to  an  avalanche  of  suppositions  pen- 
etrating the  brains  of  the  two  government  officials, 
who  passed — from  one  to  the  other — foolish  bread 
and  butter  speeches.  Elisabeth  asked  three  ques- 
tions : 


86  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"If  Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx  is  on  our  side,  will 
Monsieur  Baudoyer  be  sure  of  the  nomination?" 

"Why,  zounds!"  cried  the  cashier. 

"In  1814,  my  uncle  Bidault  and  Monsieur  Gob- 
seek,  his  friend,  helped  him,"  she  thought — "Is  he 
still  in  debt?"  she  remarked  aloud. 

"Yes,"  said  the  cashier,  dwelling  with  a  hissing 
and  piteous  accent  on  the  last  letter  of  the  word. 
"There  has  been  some  opposition  about  paying  him 
the  salary,  but  the  higher  authorities  ordered  it 
paid  by  check  at  sight 

"Where  then  is  the  des  Lupeaulx  estate?" 

"Why,  zounds !  in  the  part  of  the  country  where 
your  grandfather  and  your  great-uncle,  Bidault,  and 
Falleix  belong,  not  far  from  the  district  of  the  Deputy 
who  is  about  to  resign." 

When  Elisabeth's  huge  husband  had  gone  to  bed, 
she  bent  over  him,  and,  although  he  always  regarded 
her  questions  as  whims,  she  said : 

"My  dear,  perhaps  you  will  obtain  Monsieur  de 
la  Billardi^re's  position." 

"There  you  are  again  with  your  imaginations," 
said  Baudoyer.  "Let  Monsieur  Gaudron  speak  to 
the  Dauphine,  and  do  not  meddle  with  politics." 

At  eleven  o'clock,  when  all  was  quiet  at  the  Place 
Royale,  Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx  left  the  opera  to  go 
to  Rue  Duphot  This  was  one  of  Madame  Rabour- 
din's  most  brilliant  Wednesday  evenings.  Many 
of  those  friends  who  were  in  the  habit  of  going 
on  these  evenings  went  there  after  the  theatre, 
and  had  increased  the  number  of  gueits  in  her 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  87 

drawing-rooms,  among  whom  might  be  noticed 
several  celebrities;  for  instance,  Canalis,  the  poet; 
Schinner,  the  artist;  Doctor  Bianchon,  Lucien  de 
Rubempre,  Octave  de  Camps,  the  Comte  de  Gran- 
ville, the  Vicomte  de  Fontaine;  du  Bruel,  the  vau- 
devillist;  Andoche  Finot,  the  journalist;  Derville, 
who  had  one  of  the  mo§t  level  heads  in  the  Palais; 
the  Comte  du  Ch^telet,  a  deputy;  du  Tillet,  the 
banker;  and  elegant  young  men  like  Paul  de  Man- 
erville,  and  the  young  Vicomte  de  Portendu^re. 
As  the  secretary-general  entered,  Celestine  was 
serving  tea.  This  evening  her  costume  was  exceed- 
ingly becoming;  she  wore  a  gown  of  black  velvet, 
without  any  ornaments,  a  black  gauze  scarf,  her 
hair  brushed  smooth,  and  done  up  in  a  thick  braid, 
while  on  each  side  of  her  head  hung  curls,  after  the 
English  fashion.  This  woman  was  especially 
remarkable  for  the  neglige  Italian  grace  of  her 
artistic  movements,  the  ease  with  which  she  under- 
stood everything,  and  the  grace  with  which  she 
cordially  welcomed  the  slightest  desire  of  her 
friends.  By  nature  she  was  endowed  with  a  slen- 
der figure,  which  could  turn  gracefully  at  the  first 
word  of  interrogation,  black  eyes  of  Oriental  shape, 
able,  like  those  of  the  Chinese,  to  see  out  of  their 
corners.  She  knew  how  to  manage  her  sweet, 
sympathetic  voice  in  such  a  way  as  to  throw  a 
tender  charm  over  all  her  words,  even  such  as  she 
spoke  hap-hazard.  Her  feet  were  like  those  seen 
in  portraits,  where  the  painters  boldly  lie  in  treat- 
ing the  feet  of  their  models, — the  only  way  in  which 


88  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

they  can  flatter  without  compromising  anatomy. 
Her  complexion,  which  was  rather  inclined  to  be 
yellow  by  day-light,  like  that  of  brunettes,  was 
brilliant  by  lamp-light,  which  heightened  the  lustre 
of  her  hair  and  black  eyes.  In  short,  her  slender 
and  nimble  form  reminded  the  artist  of  the  Venus 
of  the  Middle  Ages  found  by  Jean  Goujon,  and  the 
illustrious  statue  of  Diane  de  Poitiers. 

Des  Lupeaulx  stopped  at  the  door  and  leaned  his 
shoulder  against  the  jamb.  This  man,  who  pried  so 
closely  into  every  idea,  was  not  loath  to  pry  into 
sentiment,  for  this  woman  interested  him  much  more 
than  any  of  the  others  with  whom  he  was  in  any 
way  associated.  Des  Lupeaulx  had  reached  that 
age  when  men  have  an  excessively  high  standard 
of  woman.  The  first  gray  hairs  lead  to  the  latest 
passions,  the  more  intense  because  they  are  master 
of  a  power  about  to  end,  and  which  will  be  followed 
by  the  feebleness  of  age.  Forty  years  is  the  age  of 
follies,  the  age  when  a  man  wishes  to  be  loved  for 
himself,  for  then  his  love  is  not  self-sustaining, 
as  is  the  case  in  early  youth,  when  one  can  be 
happy  in  loving  thoughtlessly  after  the  manner  of 
Cherubin.  When  forty  years  of  age  a  man  wishes 
everything,  yet  fears  he  will  obtain  nothing,  while 
at  twenty-five  years  of  age  his  life  is  so  rushed, 
that  he  does  not  think  of  wanting  anything  but 
what  he  has.  When  twenty-five  years  of  age,  he 
rushes  ahead  with  such  force  that  he  can  waste  it 
with  impunity,  but  when  forty  years  of  age  he  mis- 
takes abuse  for  power.     The  thoughts  which  took 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  89 

possession  of  des  Lupeaulx  at  this  moment  were, 
doubtless  melancholy.  The  nerves  of  this  old  beau 
relaxed,  the  agreeable  smile  which  ordinarily  spread 
over  his  entire  countenance,  like  a  mask,  faded, 
and  his  face  became  contracted.  The  real  man  then 
appeared,  and  his  countenance  was  horrible.  Ra- 
bourdin  perceived  him  and  said  to  himself:  "What 
has  happened  to  him?  Is  he  in  disgrace?"  The 
secretary-general  was  only  recalling  how,  not  long 
ago,  he  had  been  suddenly  discarded  by  the  pretty 
Madame  Colleville,  whose  designs  were  exactly 
those  of  Celestine.  Rabourdin  surprised  this  false 
statesman,  whose  eyes  were  fixed  on  Madame 
Rabourdin,  and  he  recorded  this  look  in  his  memory. 
Rabourdin  was  too  keen  an  observer  not  to  know 
des  Lupeaulx  through  and  through,  and  he  thor- 
oughly despised  him,  but,  as  is  often  the  case  with 
busy  men,  he  never  expressed  his  sentiments. 
The  absorption  caused  by  a  favorite  occupation  is 
equivalent  to  the  most  clever  dissimulation,  so  the 
opinions  of  Rabourdin  were  as  a  sealed  book,  as  far 
as  des  Lupeaulx  was  concerned.  The  head-clerk  of 
the  department  saw  with  sorrow  that  this  new  poli- 
tician frequented  his  house,  but  he  did  not  wish  to 
thwart  Celestine.  Just  then  he  was  talking  confi- 
dentially with  a  supernumerary  who  was  about  to 
play  a  r61e  in  the  intrigue  resulting  from  the  now 
certain  death  of  La  Billardi^re.  He  watched,  in 
a  preoccupied  way,  both  Celestine  and  des  Lu- 
peaulx. 

Here,  perhaps,   it  would  be  well  to  explain,  as 


90  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

much  for  foreigners  as  for  our  own  people,  what  a 
supernumerary  in  a  government  office  in  Paris  is. 

The  supernumerary  bears  the  same  relation  to 
the  administration  that  the  choir-boy  does  to  the 
church,  that  the  child  of  the  regiment  does  to  the 
regiment,  that  the  ballet-girl  does  to  the  theatre; 
something  naive,  frank — a  being  blinded  by  illu- 
sions. Without  illusions,  where  would  we  be?  By 
inspiring  us  with  faith,  they  give  us  strength  to  un- 
dergo the  great  hardships  necessary  to  master  the 
arts,  and,  in  fact,  to  conquer  the  beginnings  of  all 
knowledge.  Illusion  is  an  immeasurable  faith! 
Now  the  supernumerary  has  faith  in  the  administra- 
tion !  he  does  not  think  it  cold,  cruel,  and  hard,  as 
it  really  is.  Th?re  are  only  two  kinds  of  super- 
numeraries, the  rich  and  the  poor.  The  poor  super- 
numerary is  rich  in  hope  and  wants  a  place ;  the 
rich  supernumerary  is  poor  in  spirit  and  wants 
nothing.  A  wealthy  family  is  not  foolish  enough 
to  place  an  intelligent  man  in  the  administration. 
The  rich  supernumerary  is  confided  to  the  care  of  a 
head  clerk,  or  is  placed  near  the  director-general, 
who  initiates  him  into  what  Bilboquet — that  great 
philosopher — would  call  the  high  comedy  of  the 
administration.  The  horrors  of  plodding  drudgery 
are  made  easy  for  him  until  the  time  when  he  is 
appointed  to  some  office.  The  rich  supernumerary 
never  alarms  the  other  officials.  The  clerks  know 
that  he  does  not  threaten  their  interests,  for  he 
seeks  only  the  highest  posts  of  the  administration. 
About   this  time,    many  families  were  thinking, 


THE  CiVIL  SERVICE  9I 

"What  shall  we  make  of  our  sons?"  The  army 
did  not  offer  any  chance  to  make  a  fortune.  Spe- 
cial careers,  like  civil  engineering,  the  navy,  min- 
ing, military  engineering,  or  a  professorship,  were 
fenced  in  by  rules  or  impracticable  because  of  the 
great  competition;  whereas  the  rotary  movement 
which  metamorphosed  the  clerks  into  prefects,  sub- 
prefects,  assessors,  receivers,  etc.,  like  the  figures 
of  a  magic-lantern,  was  subject  to  no  rules,  to  no 
drudgery.  By  this  easy  gap,  sprang  up  the  super- 
numeraries who  drove  in  their  cabriolets,  who  wore 
fine  clothes,  and  cultivated  moustachios,  and  were 
all  of  them  as  impertinent  as  parvenus.  Journalists 
made  enough  fun  of  these  wealthy  supernumeraries, 
who  were  always  a  cousin,  a  nephew  or  some  rela- 
tion of  some  minister,  of  some  deputy,  or  of  a  very 
influential  peer.  But  the  fellow-clerks  of  these 
supernumeraries  looked  up  to  them  for  protection. 
The  poor  supernumerary,  the  real,  the  only  super- 
numerary, is  almost  always  the  son  of  the  widow 
of  a  clerk,  who  lives  on  a  meagre  pension,  wears 
herself  out  in  taking  care  of  her  son  until  he  can 
get  the  place  of  copying-clerk,  and  who  dies  leaving 
him  near  the  baton  of  the  marshal,  some  position 
as  writer  of  deeds,  order-clerk  or  perhaps  under- 
head  clerk.  This  supernumerary,  who  is  always 
obliged  to  live  where  rents  are  low,  leaves  home 
early  in  the  morning;  for  him  the  state  of  the  sky 
is  the  sole  Eastern  Question !  He  goes  on  foot,  and 
takes  care  not  to  get  bespattered  with  mud,  saves  his 
clothes,  counts  the  time  he  is  under  forced  shelter 


92  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

on  account  of  a  heavy  shower.  What  subjects 
for  contemplation !  The  pavements  in  the  streets, 
the  flagging  in  the  boulevards  and  the  quays  were 
of  great  use  to  him.  If,  as  some  strange  freak,  you 
should  go  abroad  in  Paris  at  half-past  seven  or 
eight  o'clock  on  a  winter's  morning,  in  the  piercing 
cold,  in  the  rain,  or  in  some  sort  of  bad  weather, 
and  you  should  see  a  timid  and  pale  young  man, 
without  cigar,  approach  you,  take  notice  of  his 
pockets.  You  would  certainly  see  there  the  outlines 
of  a  roll  which  his  mother  had  given  him,  so  that 
he  might,  without  danger  of  indigestion,  bridge  over 
the  nine  hours  between  his  breakfast  and  dinner. 
Besides  which,  the  guilelessness  of  the  supernu- 
merary in  other  respects  does  not  last  long.  A 
young  man,  enlightened  by  the  brilliancy  of  Parisian 
life,  soon  measures  the  enormous  distance  between 
himself  and  the  deputy-chief,  a  distance  which  no 
mathematician,  neither  Archimedes,  Newton,  Pas- 
cal, Kepler,  Leibnetz  nor  Laplace,  has  been  able  to 
calculate,  the  distance  between  the  cipher  and  the 
figure  I,  between  a  problematical  gratuity  and  a 
salary,  it  is  then  that  the  supernumerary  at  once  per- 
ceives the  impossibilities  of  this  career;  he  hears 
the  clerks  talk  about  and  explain  favoritism;  he 
discovers  the  intrigues  of  office;  he  sees  the  ques- 
tionable means  by  which  his  superiors  have  attained 
their  places.  One,  for  instance,  having  married  a 
young  woman  whose  character  was  not  without 
reproach,  another  the  natural  daughter  of  a  minister 
of  state;  this  one  shouldered  a  great  responsibility; 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  93 

that  one,  possessing  great  talent,  risked  his  health 
by  excessive  toil,  he  persevered  like  a  mole,  and  one 
is  not  always  capable  of  such  prodigious  efforts. 
Everything  is  known  in  a  government  office.  The 
incapable  man  has  a  wife  of  great  ability,  who  has 
pushed  him  on  until  he  was  nominated  deputy;  if 
he  displays  no  ability  for  office  work,  he  plots  in 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  wife  of  one  has  a 
statesman  as  her  intimate  friend.  Another  is  the 
silent  partner  of  a  powerful  journal.  Then  the  dis- 
gusted supernumerary  sends  in  his  resignation. 
Three-quarters  of  the  supernumeraries  leave  the 
employ  of  the  government  without  having 
obtained  even  a  clerkship,  and  those  who  remain 
are  stubborn  or  foolish  young  men,  who  say  to  them- 
selves: **I  have  been  here  for  three  years,  and  I 
must  some  time  gain  a  position ! "  or  else  they  have 
a  vocation  for  this  kind  of  work.  Evidently  the 
position  of  supernumerary  bears  the  same  relation 
to  the  government  as  that  of  the  novice  to  religious 
orders.  They  are  on  trial,  and  this  trial  is  harsh. 
The  state  discovers  how  many  of  them  can  bear 
hunger,  thirst  and  indigence  without  succumbing; 
how  many  can  bear  incessant  work  without  becom- 
ing disgusted ;  whose  temperament  will  accept  this 
horrible  existence,  or,  if  you  like,  the  disease  of 
government  life.  From  this  point  of  view,  the  posi- 
tion of  supernumerary,  far  from  being  an  infamous 
device  of  the  government  to  obtain  work  gratis, 
should  become  a  useful  institution. 

The  young  man  with  whom  Rabourdin  was  talking 


94  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

was  a  poor  supernumerary  named  Sebastien  de 
la  Roche,  who  had  walked  all  the  way  from  the  Rue 
du  Roi-Dore  in  the  Marais,  on  tiptoe,  without  having 
splashed  his  boots.  He  talked  of  "Mamma,"  and 
dared  not  raise  his  eyes  in  speaking  to  Madame 
Rabourdin,  whose  house  seemed  to  him  somewhat 
like  the  Louvre.  He  tried  to  hide  his  gloves,  which 
had  been  cleaned  with  india-rubber.  His  poor 
mother  had  put  a  hundred  sous  in  his  pocket,  in 
case  it  should  be  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to 
take  a  hand  at  cards,  at  the  same  time  enjoining 
him  to  drink  nothing,  to  remain  standing,  and  to  be 
very  careful  not  to  overturn  any  of  the  lamps,  or 
pretty  bric-a-brac  placed  on  an  etag^re.  His  dress 
was  of  the  severest  black.  His  face  was  fair,  his 
eyes  were  of  a  beautiful  shade  of  green,  with  golden 
lights,  and  were  in  harmony  with  his  beautiful, 
warm-toned  hair.  The  poor  youth  occasionally 
looked  timidly  up  at  Madame  Rabourdin,  whisper- 
ing to  himself:  "What  a  beautiful  woman!"  On 
his  return  home  he  would  surely  dream  of  this  fairy 
until  sleep  should  close  his  eyelids.  Rabourdin  had 
noticed  that  Sebastien  had  an  aptitude  for  his  work, 
and  as  he,  himself,  took  the  position  of  supernu- 
merary seriously,he  became  greatly  interested  in  this 
poor  lad.  Besides,  he  had  guessed  the  misery  which 
was  the  lot  of  this  poor  widow,  who  received  only 
seven  hundred  francs  pension,  and  whose  son — who 
had  just  finished  college — had  necessarily  used  up 
all  her  savings.  Thus  he  treated  this  poor  super- 
numerary with  paternal  care ;  he  often  argued  with 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  95 

the  council  to  give  him  a  fee,  and  sometimes  he 
even  took  it  from  his  own  purse — when  the  discus- 
sion between  himself  and  those  who  distributed  the 
fees  became  too  animated.  Then  he  overwhelmed 
Sebastien  with  work;  he  trained  him,  he  made  him 
fill  the  place  of  du  Bruel,  the  playwright,  known 
in  dramatic  literature,  and  advertised  publicly 
as  Cursy,  and  who  paid  Sebastien  three  hundred 
francs  out  of  his  salary.  In  the  minds  of  Madame 
de  la  Roche  and  her  son,  Rabourdin  was  at  the 
same  time  a  great  man,  a  tyrant  and  an  angel ;  on 
him  hung  all  their  hopes.  Sebastien's  eyes  were 
always  fixed  on  the  time  when  he  should  pass 
beyond  a  clerkship.  Ah !  the  day  when  the  super- 
numeraries signed  receipts  for  their  salaries  was  a 
bright  day  for  them !  They  have  all  long  handled 
their  first  month's  salary,  all  of  which  they  had 
not  given  to  their  mothers!  Venus  always  smiles 
on  these  first-fruits  of  the  ministerial  chest. 
This  hope  in  Sebastien's  case  could  not  be  realized 
except  through  Monsieur  Rabourdin,  his  only  pro- 
tector ;  thus  his  devotion  to  his  chief  was  boundless. 
The  supernumerary  dined  twice  a  month  at  Rue 
Duphot,  but  only  en  famille,  and  when  brought 
there  by  Rabourdin;  Madame  never  invited  him 
except  to  dances  when  partners  were  wanted.  The 
heart  of  this  poor  supernumerary  beat  hard  when  he 
saw  the  grand  des  Lupeaulx  often  drive  up  in  the 
state  carriage  at  half-past  four,  while  he  unrolled 
his  umbrella  at  the  door  of  the  minister  of  state,  to 
go  on  his  way  to  the  Marais.    The  secretary-general, 


96  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

on  whom  his  future  depended,  he  who  could,  by 
a  word,  give  him  a  place  worth  twelve  hundred 
francs — yes,  twelve  hundred  francs  was  the  height 
of  his  ambition;  with  this  salary  he  and  his  mother 
could  be  very  happy! — Ah,  well,  this  secretary-gen- 
eral did  not  know  him  I  Then,  des  Lupeaulx  was 
scarcely  conscious  of  the  existence  of  a  Sebastien  de 
la  Roche.  And  if  the  son  of  La  Billardi^re,  the  rich 
supernumerary  of  the  office  over  which  Baudoyer 
presided,  should  also  be  at  the  door,  then  des  Lu- 
peaulx never  omitted  saluting  him  with  an  amicable 
bow.  Monsieur  Benjamin  de  la  Billardi^re  was  a 
son  of  the  cousin  of  a  minister  of  state. 

At  that  moment  Rabourdin  was  scolding  this  poor 
little  Sebastien,  the  only  person  who  was  in  his 
entire  confidence  in  this  great  undertaking.  The 
supernumerary  copied  and  recopied  the  famous  state- 
ment, which  covered  one  hundred  and  fifty  great 
folio  sheets,  besides  the  corroborative  documents, 
the  r^sum6  which  covered  one  page,  and  the  esti- 
mates bracketed,  the  headings  in  an  English  hand 
and  the  sub-headings  in  a  round  handwriting.  En- 
thusiastic in  consequence  of  his  participation  in  the 
mechanical  part  of  this  great  idea,  the  lad  of  twenty 
would  write  over  a  section  for  having  made  a  small 
erasure,  he  took  pride  in  retouching  his  writing, 
regarding  it  as  the  element  of  this  noble  enterprise. 
Sebastien  committed  the  imprudence  of  taking  to 
the  office  a  paper  containing  facts  most  dangerous 
to  divulge,  so  that  he  might  finish  copying  it  This 
document  was  an  account  of  the  general  condition 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  97 

of  the  clerks  in  the  central  government  of  all  the 
ministries  in  Paris,  with  facts  concerning  their 
fortunes,  present  and  future,  together  with  their 
individual  enterprises  outside  of  their  position. 

In  Paris  all  government  clerks  who  are  not  en- 
dowed, like  Rabourdin,  with  patriotic  ambition  or 
some  superior  ability,  add  to  their  salaries  the 
profits  of  some  industry  to  help  them  to  gain  enough 
to  live  on.  Some  do,  as  Monsieur  Saillard  did,  when 
he  put  his  money  in  trade  carried  on  by  others,  and 
spent  his  evenings  in  keeping  the  books  of  his  part- 
ner. Many  clerks  are  married  to  needle-women,  to 
retail  tobacco  dealers,  or  to  women  who  have  charge 
of  lottery  offices,  or  reading-rooms.  Some,  like  the 
husband  of  Madame  Colleville,  Celestine's  rival, 
perform  in  the  orchestra  at  the  theatre.  Others, 
likedu  Bruel,  write  vaudevilles,  comic  operas,  melo- 
dramas, or  direct  the  play.  Among  these  we  may 
mention  Messieurs  Seurin,  Pixerecourt,  Planard,  etc 
Pigault-Lebrun  Piis,  Duvicquet  were,  in  their  day, 
in  government  employ.  The  head  librarian  of 
Monsieur  Scribe  was  a  clerk  in  the  Treasury. 

Besides  such  information,  the  memorandum  made 
by  Rabourdin  contained  an  examination  into  the 
moral  and  physical  characteristics  necessary  for 
those  who  should  be  able  to  recognize  intelligence, 
aptitude  for  work  and  good  health,  three  indispensa- 
ble conditions  in  men  who  would  have  to  endure 
the  burden  of  public  ofifice,  and  who  must  do  their 
business  qiickly  and  thoroughly.  But  this  great 
work,  the  result  of  ten  years  of  experience,  of  a  long 
7 


^  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

acquaintance  with  men  and  things,  obtained  by 
coming  in  contact  with  the  principal  functionaries 
of  the  different  ministries,  would  have — for  those 
who  did  not  see  to  what  it  led — the  air  of  a  govern- 
ment spy.  If  a  single  page  of  this  document  should 
be  read.  Monsieur  Rabourdin  would  be  lost  Sebas- 
tien — who  admired  his  chief  unreservedly — was 
still  ignorant  of  the  malice  of  the  civil  service, 
and  had  the  follies  of  guilelessness,  as  well  as  all 
its  graces.  Thus,  although  he  had  already  been 
scolded  for  bringing  this  work  to  the  office,  he  now 
acknowledged  hisfault  without  reserve;  he  told  how 
he  had  put  away  the  memorandum  and  the  copy  in 
a  portfolio  where  no  one  could  find  them;  but  when 
he  perceived  the  extent  of  his  offence,  tears  rolled 
from  his  eyes. 

"Come,  sir,"  said  Rabourdin  to  him,  kindly,  "let 
us  have  no  more  imprudence,  but  do  not  be  in 
despair  about  it  To-morrow  go  to  the  office  very 
early.  Here  is  the  key  of  a  small  safe  which  is  in 
my  revolving  secretary ;  it  is  closed  with  a  combi- 
nation lock.  You  can  open  it  by  spelling  the  word 
ciel  and  you  will  lock  therein  the  copy  and  mem- 
orandum." 

This  proof  of  confidence  dried  the  tears  of  the 
amiable  supernumerary,  whom  Rabourdin  pressed 
to  take  a  cup  of  tea  and  some  cakes. 

"Mamma  has  forbidden  me  to  drink  tea,  on  ac- 
count of  my  chest,"  said  Sebastien. 

"Very  well,  dear  child,"  said  the  imposing 
Madame  Rabourdin,  who  made  a  parade  of  being 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  99 

gracious,  "here  are  some  sandwiches  and  cream, 
come,  sit  down  by  me." 

She  forced  Sebastien  to  sit  next  her  at  table,  and 
the  heart  of  the  poor  lad  beat  in  his  throat  as  he 
felt  the  gown  of  this  divinity  brush  his  coat  At 
this  moment  the  beautiful  Madame  Rabourdin  per- 
ceived Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx,  smiled  at  him,  and, 
instead  of  waiting  until  he  came  to  her,  she  ap- 
proached him. 

"Why  do  you  remain  there  as  if  you  were  angry 
with  us.?"  she  said. 

"I  was  not  sulking,"  he  replied.  "I  came  to  tell 
you  some  good  news,  yet  I  cannot  but  think  that 
you  will  now  be  even  more  severe  toward  me.  I 
fancy  that  in  six  months  from  now  I  will  be  almost 
a  stranger  to  you.  Yes,  you  have  too  much  wit, 
and  I — I  have  too  much  experience — I  am  too  blase, 
if  you  prefer — for  either  of  us  to  deceive  the  other. 
Your  end  is  attained  without  costing  you  more  than 
a  few  smiles  and  gracious  words — " 

"Deceive  each  other!  What  are  you  saying?" 
she  cried,  in  an  apparently  hurt  tone. 

"Yes,  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re  is  worse  to-day 
than  he  was  yesterday,  and,  from  what  the  minister 
of  state  said,  I  think  your  husband  will  be  nomi- 
nated chief  of  the  division." 

He  then  recounted  what  he  called  his  scene  at  the 
minister's  house,  the  jealousy  of  the  countess,  and 
also  told  what  she  had  said  about  the  invitation 
which  he  had  asked  for  Madame  Rabourdin. 

"Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx, '  *  said  Madame  Rabourdin 


lOO  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

with  dignity,  "permit  me  to  tell  you  that  my 
husband  is  the  oldest  head-clerk  of  the  service,  and 
also  the  most  capable;  beside,  the  nomination  of 
that  old  La  Billardi^re  was  a  favoritism  which  made 
so  much  talk  in  the  office,  that  my  husband  remained 
in  the  service  for  another  year.  Thus  we  have 
neither  competitor  nor  rival." 

"All  that  is  true." 

"Very  well, "  she  resumed,  while  smil ing  and  show- 
ing the  most  beautiful  teeth  in  the  world.  "How  can 
the  friendship  I  have  for  you  be  sullied  by  the  thought 
of  self-interest?    Do  you  think  me  capable  of  that?" 

Des  Lupeaulx  made  a  gesture  of  admiring  denial. 

"Ah!"  she  cried,  "the  heart  of  woman  will  always 
remain  a  secret  for  the  cleverest  among  you.  Yes, 
I  have,  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  seen  you  come 
here,  and,  at  the  foundation  of  my  pleasure,  there 
was  an  interested  motive." 

"Ah!" 

"You  have,"  she  whispered  to  him,  "a  boundless 
future.  You  will  be  deputy,  then  minister ! " — what 
a  great  pleasure  for  an  ambitious  man  to  hear  such 
words  whispered  in  his  ear  by  the  sweet  voice  of  a 
pretty  woman! — "Oh!  I  know  you  better  than  you 
know  yourself.  Rabourdin  is  a  man  who  will  be  of 
immense  service  to  you  in  your  career;  he  will  do 
the  drudgery  when  you  are  occupied  in  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies.  Just  as  you  hope  to  gain  a  posi- 
tion in  the  ministry,  I  desire  that  Rabourdin  should 
be  in  the  council  of  state,  and  general  director.  I, 
therefore,  have  the  idea  of  uniting  two  men  who 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  lOI 

never  can  be  in  each  other's  way,  but  who  will  be 
able  to  help  each  other  powerfully.  Is  that  not  a 
r61e  for  a  woman  to  play  ? " 

"As  friends,  you  will  both  rise  faster,  and  it  is 
time  for  both  of  you  to  bestir  yourselves !  I  have 
burned  my  ships,"  she  added,  smiling.  "You  are 
not  as  frank  with  me  as  I  am  with  you." 

"You  will  not  listen  to  me,"  he  said,  with  a  mel- 
ancholy air,  notwithstanding  the  deep  inward  con- 
tent which  Madame  Rabourdin's  remarks  gave  him. 
"What  would  those  future  promotions  be  to  me,  if 
you  dismiss  me  now  ? " 

"Before  listening  to  you,"  she  said,  with  all  her 
Parisian  vivacity,  "we  must  be  able  to  understand 
one  another." 

And  she  left  the  old  beau  to  go  and  speak  with 
Madame  de  Chessel,  a  provincial  countess,  who 
seemed  about  to  leave. 

"This  is  a  very  extraordinary  woman,"  said  des 
Lupeaulx  to  himself.  "I  don't  know  myself  when 
talking  to  her." 

Thus  this  roue,  who  six  years  before  had  kept  a 
ballet-girl,  and  who  now,  thanks  to  his  position, 
made  himself  a  seraglio  with  the  pretty  wives  of 
the  clerks,  who  lived  in  the  society  of  journalists 
and  actresses,  became  very  much  devoted  to  Celes- 
tine  during  the  entire  evening,  and  was  the  last  to 
leave  the  house. 

"At  last,"  thought  Madame  Rabourdin,  while  she 
was  undressing,  "we  have  gained  the  position! 
Twelve  thousand  francs  a  year,  gratuities  and  the 


102  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

revenue  from  our  farm  at  Grajeux.  All  that  added 
together  will  make  twenty-five  thousand  francs. 
That  is  not  wealth,  neither  is  it  penury." 

Celestine  went  to  sleep  dreaming  of  her  debts,  in 
thinking  that  by  annually  reserving  six  thousand 
francs  she  could,  in  the  course  of  three  years,  pay 
them  all  off.  She  was  far  from  imagining  that  a 
woman  who  had  never  put  her  foot  in  a  drawing- 
room,  that  a  little  middle-class  woman,  selfish  and 
scolding,  bigoted  and  hidden  in  the  Marais,  insig- 
nificant and  without  acquaintances,  would  dream  of 
carrying  by  storm  the  position  in  which  she  had 
placed  her  Rabourdin  beforehand.  Madame  Rabour- 
din  would  have  despised  Madame  Baudoyer  if  she 
had  known  that  she  was  going  to  have  her  for  an 
antagonist,  for  she  was  ignorant  of  the  power  of 
pettiness,  which,  like  a  worm,  gnaws  the  elm-tree 
by  cutting  a  circle  under  the  bark. 

If  it  were  possible  for  literature  to  use  the  micro- 
scope of  the  Lewenhoek,  the  Malpighis,  and  the 
Raspails — which  Hoffmann  of  Berlin  tried  to  do — 
and  if  we  could  magnify  and  then  picture  these  ship- 
worms,  which  brought  Holland  to  the  brink  of  ruin 
by  gnawing  the  dykes,  perhaps  we  could  produce 
creatures,  somewhat  resembling  Messieurs  Gig- 
onnet.  Mitral,  Baudoyer,  Saillard,  Gaudron,  Falleix, 
Transon,  Godard  and  Company,  borers  who  had 
shown  their  undermining  power  in  the  thirtieth  year 
of  this  century.  But  now  let  us  look  at  the  worms 
that  crawled  in  the  government  ofifices,  where  the 
principal  scenes  of  this  book  were  prepared. 


fn  Paris,  nearly  all  government  bureaus  re- 
semble each  other.  Into  whatever  ministry  you 
penetrate  to  solicit  the  least  redressment  of  wrongs, 
or  the  most  trivial  favor,  you  will  find  the  same 
dark  corridors,  ill-lighted  passages,  doors  pierced 
like  the  boxes  of  the  theatre,  with  an  oval  glass 
resembling  an  eye,  and  through  which  one  can  see 
phantasies  worthy  of  Callot,  and  on  which  are 
incomprehensible  signs.  When  you  have  discov- 
ered the  person  you  are  looking  for,  you  find  your- 
self in  an  ante-room,  where  the  office-boy  presides; 
in  the  second  are  the  inferior  clerks;  the  office  of 
an  under-chief  follows  to  the  right  or  to  the  left; 
finally,  farther  on,  or  above  that  of  the  head  of  the 
office.  As  to  the  important  personage  called  chief 
of  the  division  under  the  Empire,  then  director 
under  the  Restoration,  and  now  again  called  chief 
of  the  division,  he  lives  either  above  or  below  his 
two  or  three  offices,  sometimes  next  to  the  apart- 
ments of  one  of  his  chiefs.  His  apartment  is  always 
of  larger  size,  an  advantage  much  prized  in  this 
honey-comb  of  a  bee-hive,  called  a  ministry  or  gen- 
eral direction,  if  even  one  general  direction  still 
exists!  Now,  nearly  all  the  ministries  have 
absorbed  these  administrations,  which  were  formerly 
separated.  In  this  agglomeration  the  general  direc- 
tors have  lost  all  their  brilliancy  by  losing  their 
(103) 


104  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

establishment,  their  followers,  their  drawing-rooms 
and  their  little  court  Who  would  recognize,  to- 
day, in  the  man  who  walks  to  the  treasury,  and 
then  has  to  climb  to  the  second  story,  the  director- 
general  of  forests,  or  of  the  indirect  taxes,  formerly 
lodged  in  a  magnificent  house,  in  Rue  Sainte-Avoye, 
or  Rue  Saint-Augustin  ?  Who  would,  in  him,  recognize 
a  counsellor,  often  a  minister  of  state  and  a  Peer  of 
France? — Messieurs  Pasquier  and  Mole,  among 
others,  were  contented  with  general  directorships 
after  having  been  ministers,  thus  putting  in  practice 
the  words  of  the  Duke  d'Antin  to  Louis  XIV. :  "Sire, 
when  Jesus  Christ  died  on  Friday,  He  knew  very 
well  that  He  would  return  on  Sunday." — If,  in  losing 
his  luxurious  surroundings,  the  director-general  had 
gained  an  administrative  advancement,  the  wrong 
would  not  have  been  so  great;  but  now,  this  person- 
age, after  great  efforts,  is  obliged  to  take  the  position 
of  maitre  des  requites,  with  a  wretched  salary 
of  some  twenty  thousand  francs.  As  a  symbol  of 
his  former  power,  he  is  allowed  an  officer  who 
wears  short  breeches,  silk  stockings,  a  French  coat, 
if,  however,  the  officer  has  not  been  lately  changed. 
In  the  administrative  sense,  a  bureau  consists  of 
a  lad,  several  supernumeraries — who  do  the  work 
gratis  for  a  certain  number  of  years — several  copy- 
ing-clerks, writers  of  bills,  order-clerks,  or  head- 
clerks,  deputy-chief  and  chief  of  the  bureau.  The 
divisions,  which  comprise,  ordinarily,  two  or  three 
bureaus,  cover  sometimes  even  more.  Their  names 
vary  according  to  the  administrations;  for  instance. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  105 

there  is  sometimes  an  auditor  instead  of  order- 
clerk,  a  bookkeeper,  etc.  The  first  room,  where 
the  office-boy  is  seated,  is  paved  like  the  corridor, 
and  hung  with  a  cheap  paper,  and  is  furnished 
with  a  stove,  a  large  black  table,  pens,  inkstand, 
sometimes  running  water,  and  we  must  not  forget 
to  mention  the  benches.  But  there  are  no  mats  for 
the  public  to  wipe  their  feet  on.  The  clerk  of  the 
bureau,  seated  in  his  comfortable  arm-chair,  rests 
his  feet  on  matting  instead.  The  office  of  the  clerks 
is  a  large  apartment  more  or  less  well  lighted,  but 
rarely  has  a  parquet  floor.  Wooden  floors  and  fire- 
places are  especially  affected  by  the  heads  of  the 
bureau  and  the  division,  as  well  as  wardrobes, 
mahogany  bureaus  and  tables,  arm-chairs  covered 
with  red  or  green  morocco,  divans,  silk  curtains  and 
other  objects  of  administrative  luxury.  The  clerk's 
office  is  furnished  with  a  stove,  the  pipe  of  which 
fits  in  a  walled-up  chimney,  if  there  happens  to 
be  a  chimney.  The  wall  paper  is  plain,  green  or 
brown.  The  tables  are  of  black  wood.  The  in- 
genuity of  the  clerks  shows  itself  in  their  manner 
of  making  themselves  comfortable.  The  chilly  one 
has  a  kind  of  wooden  foot-stool  under  his  feet,  the 
man  with  a  bilious-sanguine  temperament  has  a 
rush-matting,  the  lymphatic  man,  who  dreads 
draughts  caused  by  the  opening  of  doors  and  other 
causes  of  the  changing  of  the  temperature,  makes 
a  little  screen  with  the  boxes.  There  is  a  closet 
where  each  clerk  keeps  his  business  coat,  his  linen 
sleeves  and  eye-shades,  caps,  skull-cap  and  other 


I06  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

things  necessary  for  the  business.  The  mantel- 
piece is  nearly  always  ornamented  with  decanters 
filled  with  water,  glasses  and  the  debris  of  breakfast. 
In  certain  dark  places  there  are  lamps.  The  door 
of  the  under-head  clerk's  office  remains  open,  so 
that  he  can  watch  his  clerks,  hinder  them  from 
talking  too  much,  or  so  that  he  can  go  and  speak 
with  them  on  great  occasions.  The  furniture  of  the 
offices  indicates  to  the  observer,  if  need  be,  the  rank 
of  those  who  occupy  them.  The  curtains  are  white 
or  colored,  cotton  or  silk  material ;  the  chairs  are  of 
cherry-wood  or  mahogany,  with  seats  of  straw, 
leather  or  some  other  material;  the  wall-papers  are 
more  or  less  fresh.  But  to  whichever  administra- 
tion all  this  government  furniture  belongs,  when  the 
minister  of  state  is  through  with  it,  no  stranger 
history  can  be  imagined  than  that  which  belongs  to 
this  furniture  which  has  seen  so  many  masters,  so 
many  governments,  and  which  has  met  with  so 
many  disasters.  Besides  this,  of  all  movings  in 
Paris  the  most  grotesque  are  those  of  the  adminis- 
trations. Even  the  genius  of  Hoffmann,  this  singer 
of  the  impossible,  has  not  been  able  to  invent  any- 
thing more  fantastic.  No  attention  is  paid  to  what 
passes  in  the  carts.  The  boxes  gape  open,  leaving 
a  train  of  dust  in  the  streets.  The  tables  can  be 
seen  placed  in  the  carts  with  their  four  legs  in  the  air, 
and  the  moth-eaten  arm-chairs,  the  incredible  tools 
with  which  France  is  ruled,  have  a  terrible  aspect. 
They  resemble  at  the  same  time  theatre  property 
and  clown's  apparatus,  just  as  one  perceives  on 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  107 

the  obelisks  intelligible  traces  and  remains  of 
writing  which  are  troublesome  to  decipher,  as 
everything  is  that  one  sees  but  cannot  comprehend 
as  to  its  purposes.  In  short,  everything  is  so  old, 
so  used  up  and  so  faded  that  the  utensils  of  the 
dirtiest  kitchen  are  infinitely  more  agreeable  to  see 
than  the  utensils  of  the  administrative  kitchen. 

Perhaps,  by  giving  a  description  of  the  division 
of  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re,  the  foreigner  and  those 
living  in  the  provinces  can  form  an  exact  idea  of 
the  internal  customs  of  the  offices,  for  these  princi- 
pal features  are  doubtless  common  to  all  European 
administrations.  At  first,  and  before  everything, 
picture  to  yourself  a  man  thus  described  in  the 
Annuaire: 

Chief  of  Division. 

"Monsieur  le  Baron  Flamet  de  la  Billardiere— Athanase- 
Jean-Fran(;ols-Michel — formerly  grand-provost  of  the  depart- 
ment of  La  Corrfeze,  gentleman  in  ordinary  of  the  bed- 
chamber, maitr*  de  requetes  extraordinary,  president  of  the 
college  of  the  department  of  Dordogne,  officer  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor,  Knight  of  Saint-Louis,  and  of  the  foreign  orders 
of  Christ,  of  Isabelle,  of  Saint- Wladimir,  etc.;  member  of  the 
Academy  of  Gers  and  of  several  other  learned  societies, 
vice-president  of  the  Society  of  Belles-lettres,  member  of  the 
Association  of  Saint-Joseph,  and  of  the  Society  of  Prisons, 
one  of  the  JVlayors  of  Paris,  etc.,  etc." 

This  personage,  who  took  so  much  typographical 
display,  at  this  time  occupied  a  space  only  five  feet 
six  inches,  by  thirty-six  inches,  in  a  bed.  His  head 
was  done  up  in  a  cotton  night-cap,  tied  by  flame- 
colored  ribbons.    He  was  attended  by  the  illustrious 


I08  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Desplein,  the  King's  surgeon,  and  also  by  the  young 
Doctor  Bianchon,  flanked  by  two  old  female  rela- 
tives, surrounded  by  vials,  bandages,  remedies  and 
various  mortuary  instruments,  and  watched  over 
by  the  curate  of  Saint-Roch,  who  was  persuading 
him  to  think  of  his  salvation.  His  son,  Benjamin 
de  la  Billardi^re,  asked  both  doctors  every  morning: 
"Do  you  think  that  1  shall  have  the  good  fortune 
of  keeping  my  father  ?  "  Even  this  very  morning 
the  heir  had  transposed  the  word  good  fortune  into 
misfortune. 

La  Billardiere's  division  occupied  a  space  seventy- 
one  feet  long  on  the  top  floor  in  the  ministerial 
ocean  of  a  magnificent  mansion  at  the  north-east  of 
a  court  where  formerly  were  stables,  at  this  time 
occupied  by  Clergeot's  division.  A  landing  sepa- 
rated the  two  offices,  whose  doors  were  labeled,  the 
entire  length  of  a  vast  corridor  lighted  with  bor- 
rowed lights.  The  private  offices  and  antechambers 
of  Messieurs  Rabourdin  and  Baudoyer  were  under- 
neath on  the  second  story.  After  Rabourdin's  were 
the  antechamber,  the  salon,  and  the  two  offices  of 
Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re. 

On  the  first  floor,  which  was  divided  in  two  by 
an  entresol,  were  the  lodgings  and  office  of  Monsieur 
Ernest  de  la  Bri^re,  a  mysterious  and  powerful  per- 
sonage, who  must  be  described  in  a  few  words,  for 
he  well  merits  a  parenthesis.  This  young  man  was, 
during  the  entire  time  of  this  administration, 
private  secretary  to  the  minister.  His  apartment 
communicated  by  means  of  a  secret  door  with  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  lOQ 

private  office  of  His  Excellency,  for,  in  addition  to 
the  working  office,  there  was  another  in  harmony 
with  the  grand  apartments  where  His  Excellency 
received,  so  that  he  might  work  by  turns  with  his 
private  secretary  without  interruption,  and  confer 
with  the  great  personages  without  the  presence  of 
his  secretary.  A  private  secretary  bears  the  same 
relation  to  the  minister  that  des  Lupeaulx  did  to  the 
ministry.  Between  the  young  La  Bri^re  and  des 
Lupeaulx  there  were  the  same  differences  as  between 
the  aide-de-camp  and  the  chief  of  staff.  This  min- 
isterial apprentice  decamps  and  returns  just  when 
his  protector  does.  If  the  minister  enjoys  the  royal 
favor,  or  still  has  parliamentary  hopes,  when  he 
falls,  he  takes  his  secretary  away  with  him,  and 
when  he  is  restored  to  office  this  secretary  returns 
also;  otherwise  he  puts  him  to  graze  in  some 
administrative  pasture — for  instance,  in  the  Court 
of  Exchequer,  that  refuge  where  secretaries  wait 
until  the  storm  has  dissipated.  This  young  man 
is  not  precisely  a  statesman,  but  he  is  a 
political  character,  and  sometimes  his  politics  are 
confined  to  the  interests  of  one  man.  When  one 
thinks  of  the  infinite  number  of  letters  he  has  to 
open  and  read,  besides  his  other  occupations,  is  it 
not  evident  that  a  monarchical  government  would 
pay  a  high  price  for  his  services.?  A  drudge  of  this 
kind  costs  Paris  between  ten  and  twenty  thousand 
francs  a  year ;  but  this  young  man  enjoys  the  opera- 
boxes,  the  invitations  and  the  carriages  of  the  min- 
ister.    The  Emperor  of  Russia  would  be  very  glad 


no  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

to  have,  for  a  salary  of  forty-thousand  francs  a  year, 
one  of  those  amiable,  constitutional  poodles,  so  gen- 
tle and  so  well  curled,  so  caressing,  so  docile,  so 
marvelously  well  got  up, — a  good  watch-dog  and 
faithful !  But  the  private  secretary  is  produced, 
obtained,  discovered  and  developed  only  in  the 
forcing-house  of  a  representative  government  In 
a  monarchy  there  are  only  courtiers  and  vassals; 
whereas  under  a  constitutional  government  you  are 
served,  flattered  and  caressed  by  men  who  are  free. 
In  France,  ministers  of  state  are  better  off  than 
women  and  kings ;  they  have  some  one  who  under- 
stands them.  Perhaps  one  ought  to  pity  private 
secretaries  as  much  as  women  and  white  paper ;  they 
suffer  everything.  Like  a  chaste  woman, they  must 
only  use  their  talents  secretly,  and  for  the  good  of 
the  ministers  to  whom  they  are  attached.  If  they 
display  talent  in  public,  they  are  lost  A  private 
secretary  is,  then,  a  friend  given  by  the  government 
Let  us  return  to  the  offices ! 

Three  men-servants  lived  peacefully  in  the  Bil- 
lardi^re  division,  to  wit:  one  servant  for  the  two 
offices,  another  to  wait  on  the  two  chiefs,  and  the 
third,  who  belonged  to  the  director  of  the  division. 
All  three  were  warmed  and  clothed  by  the  state,  and 
wore  the  well-known  livery,  of  king's  blue,  with 
red  bands  on  ordinary  occasions,  and  broad  braid, 
red,  white  and  blue  on  state  occasions.  La  Billar- 
di^re's  man  held  himself  like  a  gentleman-usher. 
This  he  did  to  flatter  the  self-esteem  of  the  cousin 
of  the   minister  of  state.      The  secretary-general 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  III 

tolerated  this  innovation,  which  gave  dignity  to  the 
administration.  These  servants,  veritable  pillars 
of  the  ministers,  experts  in  all  the  ways  of 
government  officials,  wanted  for  nothing.  They 
were  comfortably  housed,  lived  at  the  expense 
of  the  state,  grew  rich  by  their  humble  savings,  and 
knew  the  government  officers  through  and  through. 
They  had  no  other  means  of  amusing  themselves 
than  by  observing  these  men,  and  studying  their 
peculiarities.  They  also  knew  to  what  point  they 
could  trust  them  with  loans,  besides  doing  their 
commissions  with  the  greatest  discretion ;  they 
pawned  and  took  out  of  pawn,  bought  up  bills  when 
due,  and  lent  money  without  interest;  but  no  clerk 
ever  borrowed  the  smallest  sum  without  returning 
a  bonus ;  the  sums  borrowed  were  small,  and  were 
repaid  soon  with  high  rate  of  interest.  These  ser- 
vants without  masters  received  nine  hundred  francs 
salary;  New  Year's  gifts  and  gratuities  brought 
their  emoluments  to  twelve  hundred  francs,  and 
they  were  in  a  position  to  gain  almost  as  much 
more  from  the  clerks,  for  the  breakfasts  of  those 
whose  breakfasts  they  served.  In  certain  minis- 
tries the  concierge  provided  these  breakfasts.  The 
position  of  concierge  to  the  minister  of  finance  was 
formerly  worth  nearly  four  thousand  francs,  as  for 
instance  to  the  jolly  Thuillier,  whose  son  was  a 
clerk  in  La  Billardi^re's  division.  Sometimes 
these  servants  had  five-franc  pieces  slipped  into 
their  hand  by  solicitors  pressed  for  time;  these 
gifts  they  received  as   a  matter   of  course.     The 


112  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

oldest  wore  the  state  livery  at  the  offices  of  the 
ministry  only,  and  at  other  times  wore  their  ordi- 
nary clothes. 

The  ofFice-clerk,  who  was  also  the  richest,  imposed 
upon  the  majority  of  the  .clerks.  He  was  sixty 
years  of  age,  had  white  hair,  cut  short  like  a  brush, 
was  thick-set,  stout,  with  the  neck  of  an  apoplectic, 
a  common,  pimpled-face,  gray  eyes  and  a  mouth 
like  a  stove;  such  was  the  outline  of  Antoine,  the 
oldest  servant  in  the  ministry.  Antoine  had 
brought  his  two  nephews,  Laurent  and  Gabriel, 
from  Echelles  in  Savoy,  and  placed  them,  one  as 
servant  to  the  heads  of  the  offices,  the  other  as  ser- 
vant to  the  director.  They  were  clad  in  full  cloth 
costume,  like  their  uncle:  were  between  thirty  and 
forty  years  old,  had  the  physiognomy  of  porters,  and 
were  receivers  of  checks  in  the  evening  at  a  royal 
theatre,  which  places  were  procured  for  "Ihem 
through  La  Billardiere's  influence.  These  two 
Savoyards  were  married  to  clever  lace-cleaners  who 
also  darned  woolen  fabrics.  The  uncle  was  not 
married;  he  and  his  nephews  and  their  wives  lived 
together  in  better  style  than  most  of  the  under- 
chiefs.  Gabriel  and  Laurent,  who  had  scarcely  had 
their  place  for  ten  years,  had  not  yet  come  to  dis- 
trust the  methods  of  the  government ;  they  appeared 
in  livery,  as  proud  as  dramatic  authors  after  a  great 
financial  success.  Their  uncle,  whom  they  served 
with  fanatical  devotion  and  who  seemed  to  them  to 
be  a  shrewd  man,  initiated  them  gradually  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  government  machinery.     All  three 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  II 3 

came  to  open  the  offices  and  to  clean  them,  between 
seven  and  eight  every  morning;  they  then  read  the 
newspapers  or  talked  politics  after  their  fashion, 
and  conversed  about  the  business  of  the  division 
with  the  other  servants,  exchanging  among  them- 
selves the  gossip  of  their  positions — just  like  mod- 
ern domestics  who  have  full  knowledge  of  their 
masters'  affairs,  they  were  at  the  ministry  like 
spiders  in  the  centre  of  their  web,  where  they  felt 
the  slightest  movement. 

On  Thursday  morning,  the  day  after  the  minis- 
terial reception,  and  that  of  Rabourdin,  at  the  mo- 
ment when  the  uncle  was  dressing  his  beard, 
assisted  by  his  two  nephews,  in  the  ante-chamber 
of  the  second  story,  they  were  surprised  by  the 
unexpected  arrival  of  one  of  the  clerks. 

"This  is  Monsieur  Dutocq,"  said  Antoine,  "I 
know  him  by  his  stealthy  step.  He  always  seems 
to  be  skating,  this  man !  He  is  on  your  back  before 
you  dream  which  way  he  came.  Yesterday,  con- 
trary to  his  custom,  he  remained  in  the  office  of  the 
division  after  every  one  had  left,  something  he  has 
not  done  three  times  since  he  has  been  at  the  min- 
istry." 

Thirty-eight  years  of  age,  and  oblong  face  and 
bilious  complexion;  gray,  frizzled  hair  always  cut 
close  to  his  head ;  a  low  forehead,  heavy  eyebrows ; 
which  met;  a  crooked  nose,  and  tight  shut  lips; 
light  green  eyes  which  evaded  the  person  to  whom 
he  was  talking;  a  tall  figure,  the  right  shoulder 
slightly  higher  than  the  left;  brown  coat,  black 
8 


114  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

vest,  silk  cravat,  yellowish  trousers,  black  woolen 
stockings,  and  shoes  with  draggling  bows.  Such  is 
Monsieur  Dutocq,  order  clerk  in  Rabourdin's  oifice. 
Incapable  and  idle,  he  hated  his  chief.  Nothing 
more  natural.  Rabourdin  had  no  vice  calling  for 
flattery,  and  no  bad  side  to  his  character  by  which 
Dutocq  could  make  himself  useful.  Far  too  noble 
to  injure  a  clerk,  Rabourdin  was  also  too  clear- 
sighted to  allow  himself  to  be  deceived  by  outward 
appearances.  Dutocq  therefore  held  his  place  solely 
through  Rabourdin's  generosity,  and  would  despair 
of  all  advancement  if  his  chief  should  be  head  of 
the  division.  Although  he  was  conscious  that  he 
was  incapable  of  occupying  a  higher  place,  Dutocq 
knew  enough  about  government  offices  to  see  that 
incapacity  does  not  hinder  advancement.  He 
would  make  up  for  it  by  finding  a  Rabourdin  among 
his  clerks,  for  the  example  of  La  Billardi^re  was  im- 
pressive and  fatal.  Wickedness  combined  with  self- 
interest,  is  in  such  cases  equivalent  to  much  intelli- 
gence; very  wicked  and  very  selfish,  this  clerk 
tried  to  consolidate  his  position  by  making  himself 
the  spy  of  the  offices.  After  1816  he  assumed  a 
profoundly  religious  phase,  foreseeing  the  favors 
which  the  fools  of  that  age  would  indiscriminately 
bestow  on  those  who  were  called  by  them  Jesuits. 
Belonging  to  that  sect,  without,  however,  being 
admitted  to  its  mysteries,  Dutocq  went  from  one 
office  to  another,  penetrated  into  the  consciences  of 
people  by  making  unseemly  jests,  and  then  para- 
phrased his  reports  to    des    Lupeaulx,   whom    he 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  II5 

informed  of  the  slightest  circumstances.  He  often 
astonished  the  minister  by  his  great  knowledge  of 
private  affairs.  Really  a  silly  fellow  in  the  sense 
of  political  silliness,  Dutocq  aspired  to  the  honor  of 
carrying  the  secret  messages  of  des  Lupeaulx,  who 
tolerated  this  vile  man,  thinking  that  chance  might 
make  him  useful,  were  it  only  to  get  him,  or  some 
great  personage,  out  of  trouble  by  a  shameful  mar- 
riage. They  understood  each  other  well.  Dutocq 
counted  on  such  a  stroke  of  good  fortune,  and 
remained  a  bachelor.  He  had  succeeded  Monsieur 
Poiret,  the  eider,  who,  retired  to  a  bourgeois 
boarding-house,  was  superannuated  in  1814  on  a 
small  pension,  a  time  when  these  great  reforms  were 
introduced  among  the  clerks.  He  lived  on  the  fifth 
floor.  Rue  Saint-Louis-Saint-Honore,  near  the  Palais- 
Royal,  on  a  side  street.  He  had  such  a  passion  for 
collecting  old  engravings  that  he  wanted  all  the 
works  of  Rembrandt  and  Charlet,  as  well  as  all 
those  of  Sylvestre,  Audran,  Callot,  Albert  Dijrer, 
etc.  Like  most  people  who  make  collections  and 
those  who  do  their  own  housework,  he  pretended 
that  he  bought  everything  very  cheap.  He  lived 
in  a  boarding-house  in  Rue  de  Beaune,  and  passed 
the  evenings  in  the  Palais-Royal,  sometimes  going 
to  the  theatre,  thanks  to  du  Bruel,  who  gave  him 
an  author's  ticket  once  a  week.  One  word  about 
du  Bruel. 

Although  Sebastien  did  du  Bruel's  work  and 
received  the  poor  compensation  already  mentioned, 
du  Bruel  still  went  to  the  office,  but  solely  as  a 


Il6  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

make-believe  so  that  he  could  be  called  under-head- 
clerk  and  draw  the  salary.  He  wrote  up  the  small 
theatres  for  one  of  the  ministerial  daily  papers,  for 
which  he  also  wrote  articles  which  were  ordered  by 
the  ministers:  a  position  recognized,  definite  and 
unassailable.  Du  Bruel  was,  moreover,  not  want- 
ing in  any  of  those  little  diplomatic  devices  which 
could  win  him  the  general  good-will.  He  offered 
Madame  Rabourdin  a  box  at  the  theatre  every  first 
night,  called  for  her  in  a  carriage,  and  escorted  her 
home,  an  attention  which  she  appreciated  highly. 
Rabourdin,  who  was  very  tolerant  and  not  at  all 
strict  with  his  clerks,  allowed  him  to  go  to  the  the- 
atre and  return  when  it  suited  him,  and  to  work  on 
his  vaudevilles  during  office  hours.  The  Due  de 
Chaulieu  knew  that  du  Bruel  was  busy  writing  a 
novel  which  he  was  going  to  dedicate  to  him.  This 
under-head-clerk,  dressed  with  the  carelessness  of  a 
vaudevillist,  wore,  in  the  morning,  trousers  strapped 
down,  list  slippers,  a  waistcoat  which  had  been 
repaired,  an  olive  overcoat  and  a  black  cravat.  In 
the  evening  he  wore  an  elegant  costume,  for  then  he 
posed  as  a  gentleman.  Du  Bruel  lived,  and  for 
good  reasons,  in  the  house  of  Florine,  an  actress  for 
whom  he  wrote  parts.  Florine  lived  at  that  time 
in  the  same  house  with  Tullia,  a  dancer,  who  was 
more  remarkable  for  her  beauty  than  for  her  talent. 
This  environment  gave  the  under-head-clerk  the 
opportunity  of  often  seeing  the  Due  de  Rhetore, 
the  eldest  son  of  the  Due  de  Chaulieu,  a  favorite 
with  the  king.    It  was  through  Chaulieu's  influence 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 17 

tliat  du  Bruel  had  obtained  the  Cross  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor,  after  writing  an  eleventh  piece  for  the 
occasion.  Du  Bruel,  or,  if  you  prefer,  Cursy,  was 
now  busy  writing  a  play  in  five  acts  for  the  Fran- 
^-ais.  Sebastien  had  a  great  affection  for  du  Bruel, 
for  through  him  he  had  received  several  tickets  for 
the  parterre,  in  return  for  which  he  applauded  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  youth  all  the  parts  which  du  Bruel 
indicated  to  him  were  of  doubtful  merit.  Sebastien 
regarded  him  as  a  writer  of  exceptional  talent.  Du 
Bruel  once  said  to  Sebastien,  the  day  after  a  first 
representation  of  a  vaudeville — produced,  like  all 
vaudevilles,  by  three  collaborators — in  some  parts  of 
which  the  gallery  hissed : 

"The  public  recognized  those  scenes  written  by 
two." 

"Why  do  you  not  write  it  all  yourself? "  naively 
asked  Sebastien. 

There  were  excellent  reasons  why  du  Bruel  did 
not  work  alone ;  he  was  only  the  third  of  an  author. 
A  dramatic  author — as  few  people  know — is  com- 
posed of :  first,  a  man  with  ideas,  who  finds  the  sub- 
ject and  plans  the  outline  or  scenario  of  the  vaude- 
ville; second,  the  hard  worker,  who  drafts  tlie 
piece;  and  lastly,  the  practical  man,  who  sets  the 
couplets  to  music,  arranges  the  choruses  and  con- 
certed pieces,  and  the  songs  to  add  to  the  scene. 
The  practical  man  also  took  charge  of  tlie  receipts; 
that  is  to  say,  he  superintended  the  composition  of  the 
advertisements,  at  the  same  time  not  forgetting  to 
mention  that  to-morrow  a  society  play  would  be 


Il8  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

produced.  Du  Bruel,  a  hard  worker,  read  the  new 
books  at  the  office,  extracted  their  best  sentences 
and  kept  them  to  adorn  his  dialogue.  Cursy — his 
theatrical  name — was  valued  by  his  collaborators 
on  account  of  his  great  exactitude;  with  him  as  a 
helper, the  man  of  ideas  felt  that  he  was  sure  of  being 
understood,  and  therefore  folded  his  hands.  The 
clerks  of  the  division  liked  the  vaudevillist  well 
enough  to  go  in  a  body  to  his  plays  and  to  support 
them,  for  he  merited  the  title  of  good  fellow.  His 
hand  was  always  in  his  pocket,  and  he  cheerfully 
paid  for  ices  and  punches,  and  would  lend  fifty 
francs  without  ever  asking  for  their  return.  Du 
Bruel  owned  a  country-house  at  Aulnay,  besides 
having  money  invested ;  his  salary  amounted  to  four 
thousand  five  hundred  and  he  received  a  pension  of 
twelve  hundred  francs  from  the  civil  list  and  eight 
hundred  from  the  three  hundred  thousand  francs  voted 
by  the  Chamber  for  encouraging  the  arts.  Add  to 
these  divers  sums  nine  thousand  francs  earned  by 
his  quarters,  thirds  and  halves  of  plays  in  three 
different  theatres,  and  you  will  understand  that 
physically  he  would  be  large,  stout,  fat,  round 
and  present  the  appearance  of  a  good  capitalist 
As  to  du  Bruel's  morals,  he  truly  loved  Tullia,  and 
so  felt  that  she  preferred  him  to  the  brilliant  Due  de 
Rhetore,  who  was  supposed  to  be  her  lover. 

Dutocq  had  not  seen  without  alarm  what  he 
chose  to  call  the  liaison  of  des  Lupeaulx  with  Madame 
Rabourdin,  and  his  secret  anger  increased.  Besides 
he    had   too    keen  an  eye    not  to  perceive  that 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  IJ^ 

Rabourdin  was  devoting  himself  to  a  great  work 
outside  of  his  official  labors,  and  he  was  in  despair 
because  he  knew  nothing  about  it,  while  little  Sebas- 
tien  was  either  partly  or  completely  let  into  the 
secret.  Dutocq  tried  to  connect  himself  with  Mon- 
sieur Godard,  Baudoyer's  deputy-chief,  a  colleague 
of  du  Bruel,  and  he  had  accomplished  it  The  great 
esteem  in  which  Dutocq  held  Baudoyer  was  the 
cause  of  his  acquaintance  with  Godard;  not  that 
Dutocq  was  sincere  in  his  friendship,  but  by  prais- 
ing Baudoyer  and  keeping  silence  in  regard  to 
Rabourdin  he  satisfied  his  hatred  after  the  fashion 
of  small  minds. 

Joseph  Godard,  a  cousin  of  Mitral  on  his  mother's 
side,  had  presumed  on  this  distant  relationship  with 
Baudoyer,  by  aspiring  to  the  hand  of  Mademoiselle 
Baudoyer;  inconsequence  he  thought  that  Baudoyer 
shone  like  a  genius.  He  professed  a  high  esteem 
for  Elisabeth,  and  also  for  Madame  Saillard,  without 
having  yet  perceived  that  Madame  Baudoyer  was 
trying  to  nurse  Falleix  for  her  daughter.  He  pre- 
sented Mademoiselle  Baudoyer  with  small  gifts 
of  artificial  flowers,  bonbons  on  New  Year's  Day, 
and  fancy  boxes  on  her  f^te-days.  He  was  twenty- 
six  years  of  age,  a  worker  without  talent,  steady 
as  a  girl,  monotonous  and  apathetic,  holding  cafes, 
cigars  and  horsemanship  in  horror.  He  retired  reg- 
ularly at  ten  o'clock  and  arose  at  seven,  was  gifted 
with  some  social  talents,  such  as  playing  contra- 
dances  on  the  flageolet,  which  brought  him  into 
high  favor  with  the  Saillards  and  the  Baudoyers. 


120  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

He  played  the  fife  in  the  National  Guard  so  that  he 
would  not  have  to  pass  the  nights  in  the  barracks. 
Godard  gave  especial  attention  to  natural  history. 
He  made  collections  of  minerals  and  of  shells,  and 
he  knew  how  to  stuff  birds,  and  filled  his  room  with 
a  mass  of  curiosities  which  he  had  bought  cheap, 
such  as  stones  on  which  landscapes  were  painted, 
models  of  palaces  in  cork,  specimens  of  petrified 
articles  which  came  from  the  fountain  Saint-AUyre 
at  Clermont  in  Auvergne,  etc.  He  cherished  all  the 
empty  cologne  bottles,  in  which  he  kept  his  speci- 
mens of  baryta,  his  sulphates,  salts,  magnesia, 
corals,  etc.  He  accumulated  butterflies  on  frames, 
and  decorated  his  walls  with  Chinese  parasols  and 
dried  fish-skins.  Godard  lived  with  his  sister,  a 
flower-maker  in  Rue  de  Richelieu.  Although  much 
admired  by  mothers  of  families,  this  model  young 
man  was  despised  by  his  sister's  work-girls,  and 
especially  by  the  cashier,  who  for  some  time  past 
had  hoped  to  catch  him.  He  was  not  only  thin 
and  lank,  of  medium  height,  with  dark  circles 
around  his  eyes,  and  scant  beard,  and  killing,  as 
Monsieur  Bixiou  would  say,  flies  on  the  wing ;  and  he 
took  little  care  of  his  person,  his  clothes  were  badly 
cut,  his  trousers  were  large  and  hung  like  a  bag;  he 
wore  white  stockings  no  matter  what  the  weather, 
a  hat  with  a  small  rim  and  laced  shoes.  When  at 
the  office  in  a  cane-seated  arm-chair,  with  a  hole  in 
the  centre  and  ornamented  with  a  band  of  green 
morocco,  he  complained  much  of  his  digestion.  His 
chief  vice  was  getting  up  parties  for  the  country 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  121 

on  Sundays,  during  the  summer,  to  Montmorency, 
dinners  spread  on  the  grass,  and  drinking  milk  and 
cream  on  the  Boulevard  du  Montparnasse.  For  the 
last  six  months  Dutocq  began  to  visit  Mademoiselle 
Godard  occasionally,  hoping  to  effect  some  affair  in 
that  house  in  discovering  there  some  female  treasure. 

Thus  Baudoyer  had  in  his  offices  these  two 
preachers,  Dutocq  and  Godard.  Monsieur  Saillard, 
who  was  incapable  of  fathoming  the  character  of 
Dutocq,  sometimes  made  him  short  visits  in  the 
office.  The  young  La  Billardiere,  who  was  placed 
with  Baudoyer  as  supernumerary,  belonged  to  this 
clique.  The  talented  men  in  the  office  laughed 
heartily  at  the  banding  together  of  these  incapable 
clerks.  Baudoyer,  Godard  and  Dutocq  had  been 
nicknamed  by  Bixiou  The  Trinity  without  the  Spirit 
and  the  little  La  Billardiere  was  called  The  Paschal 
Lamb. 

"You  are  early  this  morning,"  said  Antoine  to 
Dutocq  laughingly. 

"And  you,  Antoine,"  Dutocq  replied,  "you  see 
that  the  newspapers  sometimes  come  earlier  than 
we  receive  them." 

"To-day,  for  example,"  said  Antoine  without 
the  slightest  confusion,  "but  they  never  come  twice 
at  the  same  hour." 

The  two  nephews  looked  at  each  other  stealthily, 
as  if  to  say  while  admiring  their  uncle,  "What 
cheek  he  has." 

"Although  I  make  two  sous  by  serving  breakfast, " 
murmured  Antoine,  after  he  heard  Dutocq  close  the 


122  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

door,  "I  would  forego  the  money  willingly  not  to 
have  him  in  our  division." 

**  Ah !  Monsieur  Sebastien,  you  are  not  the  first  to- 
day," said  Antoine  to  the  supernumerary  when  he 
entered  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later. 

*'Who  is  here  ? "  said  the  poor  youth,  turning  pale. 

"Monsieur  Dutocq,"  replied  Laurent,  the  door- 
keeper. 

Pure  natures  have  above  all  others  the  inexpli- 
cable gift  of  second  sight,  owing  perhaps  to  the  pur- 
ity of  their  nervous  systems,  which  are  in  some 
sense  new.  So  Sebastien  had  guessed  the  hatred 
which  Dutocq  bore  to  the  venerated  Rabourdin. 
And  scarcely  had  Laurent  pronounced  his  name, 
when,  seized  by  a  horrible  presentiment,  he  cried: 

**I  suspected  it" 

And  he  rushed  into  the  corridor  with  the  rapidity 
of  an  arrow. 

"There  will  be  a  quarrel  in  the  offices!"  said 
Antoine,  at  the  same  time  shaking  his  white  head 
and  putting  on  his  livery.  "  It  is  very  certain  that 
the  baron  has  just  rendered  himself  up  to  his  God. 
Yes,  Madame  Gruget,  his  nurse,  told  me  that  he 
I  could  not  live  through  the  day.  Will  there  not  be 
a  great  commotion  here  ?  Will  there  not  ?  Go 
see  if  all  the  stoves  draw  well  I  Zounds !  Our 
world  is  going  to  fall  on  our  heads." 

**  It  is  true,"  said  Laurent,  "  that  this  poor  young 
man  was  greatly  affected  when  he  heard  that  this 
Jesuitical  Monsieur  Dutocq  had  been  here  before 
him." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  12$ 

"As  for  me,  I  have  told  him  often, — for  at  least 
one  ought  to  tell  the  truth  to  a  good  clerk,  and  he  is 
a  good  clerk  who,  like  this  youth,  gives  punctually 
his  ten  francs  on  New  Year's  Day," — said  Antoine, 
"I  have  told  him :  'The  more  you  do,  the  more  you 
will  be  required  to  do,  and  then  you  will  be  left  be- 
hind in  the  promotions ! '  Very  well,  he  would  not 
listen  to  me;  he  wears  himself  out  staying  here 
until  five  o'clock,  one  hour  later  than  anyone  else." 
— He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  then  continued — 
"All  that  is  foolishness,  he  will  not  get  on  in  the 
world  that  way.  To  prove  that,  there  is  even  now 
no  chance  of  his  obtaining  an  appointment,  and  he 
would  make  an  excellent  clerk.  After  two  years' 
service!    That  is  a  shame!  on  my  word  of  honor." 

"Monsieur  Rabourdin  loves  Monsieur  Sebastien," 
said  Laurent. 

"But  Monsieur  Rabourdin  is  not  a  minister,**  an- 
swered Antoine;  "he  will  make  things  hot  when  he 
is — hens  will  then  have  teeth ;  he  is  too — well,  never 
mind!  When  I  think  that  I  carry  salaries  to  those 
rascals,  who  stay  at  home  and  do  as  they  please, 
and  only  sign  receipts  for  their  salaries,  while  this 
poor  la  Roche  is  wearing  his  life  away,  I  ask  my- 
self if  God  ever  thinks  of  the  government  clerks ! 
And  what  do  these  proteges  of  Monsieur  le  Mare- 
chal  and  Monsieur  le  Due  give  you?  They 
thank  you."  He  made  a  patronizing  bow.  "They 
make  you  a  gracious  bow,  saying:  'Thank  you,  my 
dear  Antoine.*  Pack  of  idle  fellows,  go  to  your 
work,  or  you  will  be  the  cause  of  a  revolutiorL 


124  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Under  Monsieur  Robert  Lindet  there  was  not  all  this 
confusion ;  as  for  me,  such  as  you  see  me,  I  entered 
this  wretched  office  under  Robert  Lindet  And  under 
him  the  clerks  worked.  You  ought  to  have  seen 
these  quill-drivers  writing  until  midnight,  the  fire 
in  the  stoves  having  gone  out  scarcely  perceived; 
but  this  was  because  the  guillotine  was  there ! — and 
let  me  say  that  when  they  came  late  they  had  other 
punishment  than  a  late  mark  which  they  now 
receive." 

"Father  Antoine,"  said  Gabriel,  "as  you  are  so 
talkative  this  morning,  what  is  your  idea  of  a 
clerk.?" 

"He  is,"  said  Antoine  seriously,  "a  man  who 
writes,  seated  in  the  office — But  what  am  1  saying.? 
Without  these  government  clerks  where  would  we 
be  ?  Go  then,  look  to  your  stoves,  and  never  speak 
any  evil  of  the  clerks !  Gabriel,  the  stove  in  the 
large  office  draws  like  the  devil;  you  must  turn  the 
damper  a  little." 

Antoine  placed  himself  at  the  landing  at  an  angl^ 
where  he  could  see  all  the  officials  enter  from  under 
the  porte-cochere ;  he  knew  every  one  at  the  min- 
istry and  watched  their  gait,  at  the  same  time 
remarking  on  the  contrasts  in  their  mode  of  dress. 
Before  entering  into  this  tale  it  is  necessary  here 
to  depict  the  chief  characteristics  of  the  principal 
actors  in  La  Billardiere's  division,  which  besides  will 
furnish  a  description  of  some  of  the  varieties  of  the 
genus  clerks,  and  will  justify  not  only  the  observa- 
tions of  Rabourdin,  but  also  the  title  of  this  study, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  12$ 

essentially  Parisian.  In  fact,  do  not  be  deceived! 
According  to  the  accounts  of  misery  and  originality, 
there  are  clerks  and  clerks,  just  as  all  men  are  not 
alike.  Let  us  hold  as  distinct  above  all  others  the 
Paris  clerk  from  the  clerk  in  the  country.  In  the 
country  places  the  clerk's  lot  is  a  happy  one ;  he 
has  a  comfortable  house,  a  garden,  and  is  usually 
comfortably  fixed  at  the  office;  he  drinks  good  wine 
and  pays  little  for  it,  does  not  have  to  eat  horse- 
meat,  and  knows  the  luxury  of  having  a  dessert  at 
dinner.  Instead  of  contracting  debts,  he  saves 
money.  Without  knowing  exactly  what  he  spends, 
everyone  will  tell  you  that  he  does  not  spend  all  his 
salary.  The  mothers  of  families  salute  this  young 
man  if  he  be  a  bachelor,  and  if  married,  he  and  his 
wife  go  to  the  ball  at  the  house  of  the  receiver- 
general,  the  prefect,  the  under-prefect  and  the  com- 
missary. His  character  interests  people,  he  rises 
from  the  ranks,  he  gains  for  himself  the  reputation 
of  a  man  of  ability,  he  has  chances  of  being 
regretted.  The  whole  city  knows  him,  is  interested 
in  his  wife  and  his  children.  He  gives  his  recep- 
tions, and  if  he  has  the  means,  or  a  father-in-law 
in  easy  circumstances,  he  may  become  deputy.  His 
wife  is  watched  over  by  the  particular  gossips  of 
the  little  towns,  and  if  he  is  unhappy  in  his  home 
they  know  it;  while  in  Paris,  a  fellow  clerk  will 
know  nothing  about  it.  Besides,  the  government 
clerk  in  the  country  is  a  something  while  the 
clerk  in  Paris  is  scarcely  anything. 
The  first  to  arrive  after  Sebastien  was  a  writer 


126  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

of  deeds  in  Rabourdin's  office,  named  Monsieur 
Phellion,  an  honorable  father  of  a  family.  To  the 
influence  of  his  chief  he  owed  a  half-scholarship  for 
each  of  his  two  sons  in  the  College  Henri  IV. ;  a 
favor  well  bestowed,  for  Phellion  had  one  daughter 
jbesides,  who  was  being  educated  gratis  in  a  board- 
ing-school where  his  wife  gave  piano  lessons,  and 
where  he  taught  a  class  of  history  and  geography 
in  the  evenings.  He  was  forty-five  years  old,  ser- 
geant-major of  his  company  in  the  National  Guard, 
very  compassionate  as  far  as  words  went,  but  could 
never  be  induced  to  give  away  a  cent  This  excel- 
lent clerk  lived  in  the  Faubourg  Saint- Jacques,  not 
far  from  Sourds-Muets,  in  a  house  with  a  gar- 
den, where  his  premises  cost  only  four  hundred 
francs.  Proud  of  his  position,  happy  in  his  lot,  he 
set  about  to  serve  the  government,  thought  himself 
useful  to  his  country,  and  boasted  of  his  indiffer- 
ence to  politics,  in  which  he  saw  nothing  but  the 
POWER.  Monsieur  Rabourdin  pleased  Phellion,  when 
he  asked  him  to  remain  a  half  hour  longer  to  do 
some  work,  and  he  then  said  to  the  Demoiselles  la 
Grave,  for  he  dined  in  Rue  Notre-Dame-des- 
Champs,  in  the  boarding-school  where  his  wife 
gave  music  lessons : 

"Ladies,  my  business  has  compelled  me  to 
remain  at  the  office.  When  one  is  in  the  Civil 
Service,  one  is  not  one's  own  master ! " 

He  compiled  books  of  questions  and  answers  for 
the  use  of  young  ladies  in  boarding-schools.  These 
little  concise  treatises,  as  he  called  them,  were  sold 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 27 

at  the  University  library,  under  the  name  of  His- 
torical and  Geographical  Catechism.  Feeling 
obliged  to  offer  a  copy  on  vellum,  bound  in  red 
morocco,  of  each  new  Catechism  to  Madame  Rabour- 
din,  he  dressed  in  his  best  when  he  took  them: 
silk  breeches,  silk  stockings,  shoes  with  gold 
buckles,  etc.  Monsieur  Phellion  received  on  Thurs- 
day evenings  after  the  boarding-school  pupils  had 
retired  for  the  night  He  provided  beer  and  cakes. 
He  and  his  friends  played  bouillotte  for  five  sous  a 
pool.  Notwithstanding  this  simple  entertainment, 
gotten  up  with  effort  on  certain  Thursdays,  Mon- 
sieur Laudigeois,  who  was  employed  in  the  mayor's 
office,  lost  his  ten  francs.  The  parlor,  hung  with 
American  wall-paper  of  a  green  hue  with  a  red  bor- 
der, was  adorned  with  portraits  of  the  King,  the 
Dauphine  and  Madame,  with  two  engravings  of 
Ma^eppa  after  Horace  Vernet,  that  of  the  Pauper's 
Funeral  after  Vigneron — "a  picture  wonderful  to 
contemplate,  and  which  according  to  Phellion's 
opinion  should  console  the  lowest  class  of  society 
by  proving  to  it  that  it  has  friends  more  devoted 
than  mankind,  whose  love  reaches  far  beyond  the 
tomb."  From  these  few  words  you  can  imagine 
this  man  who,  once  every  year,  on  mourners*  day, 
took  his  three  children  to  the  cemetery  of  TOuest 
and  showed  them  the  twenty  or  more  yards  of  earth 
bought  in  the  graveyard,  in  which  place  his  father 
and  his  wife's  mother  were  interred.  "We  will 
all  lie  here,"  he  told  them,  so  that  they  would  be» 
come  familiar  with  the  idea  of  death.     One  of  his 


128  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

greatest  pleasures  was  to  explore  the  environs  of 
Paris,  which  he  did  with  a  map.  Having  already 
become  very  well  acquainted  with  Antony,  Arcueil, 
Bi^vre,  Fontenay-aux-Roses,  Aulnay — so  celebrated 
as  being  the  dwelling-place  of  many  great  authors 
—he  hoped  in  time  to  know  the  whole  western  side 
of  the  environs  of  Paris.  He  destined  his  elder  son 
for  the  administration  and  the  second  he  intended 
to  send  to  the  Ecole  Polytechnique.  He  often  said 
to  his  eldest  child,  "When  you  have  attained  the 
distinction  of  being  employed  by  the  government," 
but  he  suspected  that  his  son  had  a  preference  for 
the  exact  sciences  which  he  tried  to  suppress,  at 
the  same  time  being  willing  to  let  him  go  according 
to  his  own  bent  if  he  persisted  in  it  Phellion  had 
never  dared  to  ask  Monsieur  Rabourdin  to  dine  with 
him,  although  he  would  have  thought  that  day  one 
of  the  gayest  in  his  life.  He  imagined  that  if  he 
could  have  one  of  his  sons  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
Rabourdin,  he  could  die  the  happiest  man  in  the 
world.  He  had  so  well  sounded  the  praises  of  this 
worthy  and  respectable  head  of  the  department  to 
the  Demoiselles  la  Grave,  that  they  wished  to  see 
this  great  Monsieur  Rabourdin,  as  much  as  a  young 
man  might  wish  to  see  Monsieur  de  Chateaubriand. 
"They  would  be  very  happy,"  they  said,  "to  have 
his  daughter  to  educate."  If  perchance  the  car- 
riage of  the  minister  drove  up  or  drove  away, 
whether  anyone  was  in  it  or  not,  Phellion  took  off  his 
hat  in  the  most  respectful  manner,  and  asserted 
that  France  would  do  much  better  by  thus  honoring 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I29 

the  power,  even  to  bowing  to  its  insignia.  When 
Rabourdin  sent  for  him  to  go  downstairs,  so  that 
he  could  explain  to  him  some  work,  Phellion  paid 
strict  attention;  he  listened  to  the  slightest  word  of 
his  chief  like  a  dilettante  listens  to  an  air  at  the 
Italian  opera.  Silent  at  the  office,  with  his  feet  in 
the  air  resting  on  a  wooden  desk,  he  never  budged. 
He  attended  conscientiously  to  his  business.  He 
displayed  the  most  religious  gravity  while  writing 
his  administrative  correspondence,  taking  every- 
thing seriously,  and  transcribing  in  the  most  solemn 
words  the  orders  given  by  the  minister.  This  man, 
so  particular  about  observing  the  conventionalities 
of  life,  had  had  a  disaster  in  his  career  of  writer, 
and  such  a  disaster!  Notwithstanding  the  great 
care  with  which  he  drew  up  documents,  it  so  hap- 
pened that  one  phrase  escaped  him  thus  expressed: 
"You  will  be  at  the  place  indicated,  bringing  with 
you  the  necessary  papers."  Happy,  laughing  at 
the  expense  of  this  innocent  man,  the  copying-clerks, 
without  his  knowledge,  consulted  Rabourdin,  who, 
knowing  the  character  of  his  clerk,  burst  out  laugh- 
ing and  modified  the  sentence  by  these  words  in 
the  margin,  "You  will  come  to  the  meeting-place 
with  all  the  documents  indicated."  Phellion,  to 
whom  the  correction  was  shown,  studied  it,  weighed 
the  difference  of  expression,  and  did  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  he  should  have  to  take  two  hours  to  dis- 
cover the  equivalents.  He  said,  "Monsieur  Rabour- 
din is  a  man  of  genius!  "  He  always  thought  that 
his  colleagues  had  lacked  due  consideration  for  him, 

9 


I30  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

by  taking  this  so  promptly  to  tiie  head  of  the  depart- 
ment, but  he  had  too  much  respect  for  the  rules  not 
to  know  that  they  had  a  perfect  right  to  do  so, 
the  more  so  as  he  was  then  absent  However,  in 
their  place,  he  would  have  waited,  for  the  circular 
was  not  pressing.  This  affair  caused  him  to  lose 
sleep  for  some  nights.  When  they  wanted  to  make 
him  angry  they  had  only  to  allude  to  this  unfor- 
tunate sentence  by  saying  to  him  as  he  passed  out: 
** Have  you  the  necessary  papers?"  The  worthy 
clerk  would  then  return,  glance  witheringly  at  the 
clerks  and  say  to  them:  "What  you  say,  gentle- 
men, seems  to  me  very  much  out  of  place."  One 
day  there  was  such  a  fierce  quarrel  on  this  subject 
that  Rabourdin  was  obliged  to  intervene  and  to  for- 
bid the  clerks  to  mention  this  sentence  again.  Mon- 
sieur Phellion  had  the  face  of  a  pensive  ram,  with 
little  color,  and  marked  by  small-pox,  large  hanging 
lips,  light  blue  eyes  and  a  stature  taller  than  ordi- 
nary. He  was  as  neat  about  his  person  as  should 
be  a  master  of  history  and  geography  accustomed  to 
appear  before  young  ladies ;  he  wore  fine  linen,  a 
pleated  shirt-frill,  an  open  waistcoat  of  black  cash- 
mere, which  showed  a  pair  of  suspenders  which 
had  been  embroidered  by  his  daughter,  a  diamond 
in  his  shirt,  a  black  coat,  and  blue  trousers.  In 
winter  he  wore  a  nut-brown  overcoat  with  three 
capes,  and  carried  a  loaded  cane,  which  was  neces- 
sary on  account  of  the  loneliness  of  the  neighbor- 
hood in  which  he  lived.  He  no  longer  took  snuff, 
and  cited  this  reform  as  a  striking  example  of  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  IJI 

control  a  man  could  have  over  himself.  He  ascended 
the  stairs  slowly,  for  he  feared  asthma,  being 
afflicted  with  what  he  called  adipose  chest.  He 
greeted  Antoine  with  dignity. 

Immediately  after  Monsieur  Phellion  came  a 
copying-clerk  who  formed  a  singular  contrast  to 
this  virtuous  good  fellow.  Vimeux  was  a  young 
man  twenty-five  years  of  age,  who  had  a  salary  of 
fifteen  hundred  francs,  was  well-made  and  graceful, 
with  an  elegant  and  romantic  face,  having  jet  black 
hair,  beard,  eyes  and  eyebrows,  beautiful  teeth, 
faultless  hands,  and  wearing  his  moustache  so 
thick  and  so  well  trimmed  that  he  seemed  to  make 
capital  of  it.  Vimeux  showed  such  great  aptitude 
for  his  work  that  he  dispatched  it  quicker  than  any 
one  else. 

*'This  young  man  is  gifted !"  said  Phellion,  when 
he  saw  him  cross  his  legs  and  not  know  what  to  do 
the  remainder  of  the  day,  after  his  work  was  fin- 
ished. "And  see,  he  is  perfection,"  said  the  clerk 
to  du  Bruel. 


Vimeux  breakfasted  on  a  simple  roll  and  a  glass 
of  water,  dined  for  twenty  sous  at  Katcomb's  and 
lodged  in  a  furnished  room  at  twelve  francs  a 
month.  His  joy,  in  fact  his  only  pleasure,  was  his 
toilet  He  ruined  himself  by  purchasing  miracu- 
lous waistcoats,  tight  trousers,  half-tight  trousers, 
pleated  or  embroidered,  fine  boots,  well-made  coats 
which  outlined  his  figure,  bewitching  collars,  new 
gloves  and  hats.  His  hand  was  ornamented  with 
a  signet  ring,  which  he  wore  over  his  glove;  and 
provided  with  a  beautiful  cane,  he  tried  to  assume 
the  air  and  manners  of  a  rich  young  man.  Later 
in  the  day  he  went,  with  a  toothpick  in  his  mouth, 
to  walk  in  the  grand  avenue  of  the  Tuileries,  as 
though  he  were  a  millionaire  who  had  just  arisen 
from  the  table.  Hoping  that  some  woman,  an  Eng- 
lish woman,  or  any  stranger,  or  a  widow,  might  fall 
in  love  with  him,  he  studied  the  art  of  playing 
with  his  cane,  and  of  throwing  a  glance  which 
Bixiou  said  was  American.  He  laughed  so  that  he 
might  show  his  beautiful  teeth,  he  wore  no  socks, 
but  had  his  hair  curled  every  day.  Vimeux,  in 
accordance  with  his  fixed  principles,  would  have 
been  willing  to  marry  a  hunchback  with  six  thou- 
sand francs  income,  or  a  woman  of  forty-five  with 
eight  thousand  a  year,  or  an  English  woman  for 
three  thousand  francs.  Phellion,  who  was  delighted 
(133) 


134  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

with  the  handwriting  of  this  young  man,  took  com- 
passion on  him,  and  tried  to  persuade  him  to  give 
writing  lessons,  an  honorable  profession  which 
would  ameliorate  his  life,  and  would  render  it  even 
agreeable,  and  he  promised  to  procure  this  position 
for  him  at  the  boarding-school  of  the  Demoiselles 
la  Grave.  But  Vimeux  had  his  own  views  so 
firmly  fixed  that  no  one  could  prevent  him  from 
having  faith  in  his  star.  Thus  he  continued  to 
promenade  in  the  afternoons  with  an  empty  stom- 
ach, like  a  sturgeon  of  Chavet,  although  he  had 
vainly  displayed  his  enormous  moustaches  for  three 
years.  As  Vimeux  owed  Antoine  thirty  francs  for 
breakfasts,  each  time  he  saw  him  he  lowered  his 
eyes  so  that  they  should  not  meet  those  of  the  man 
to  whom  he  was  indebted;  and  yet  when  mid-day 
came  he  always  asked  that  man  to  buy  him  a  roll. 
Rabourdin,  after  trying  to  drive  some  sense  into 
that  poor  head,  had  given  him  up.  Monsieur 
Vimeux,  the  father,  was  recorder  to  a  justice  de 
paix  in  the  department  du  Nord.  Adolphe  Vimeux 
had  latterly  economized  by  giving  up  Katcomb's  and 
living  on  rolls,  so  that  he  might  buy  a  pair  of  spurs 
and  a  riding-whip.  He  was  laughed  at  for  his  mat- 
rimonial calculations,  and  called  Pigeon-Villiaume. 
The  jokes  which  were  made  at  the  expense  of  this 
fasting  Amadis,  were  only  to  be  attributed  to  the 
wicked  genius  which  created  the  vaudeville,  for  he 
was  a  good  companion,  and  harmed  no  one  but  him- 
self. A  great  subject  of  mirth  in  the  offices,  at  his 
expense,  consisted  in  wagering  whether  he  wore  a 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 35 

corset  Vimeux  was  first  placed  in  Baudoyer's  office, 
but  he  manoeuvred  until  he  was  transferred  to 
Rabourdin's,  because  of  Baudoyer's  severity  in  rela- 
tion to  the  English — a  name  given  by  these  clerks 
to  their  creditors.  The  English  day  is  the  day 
when  the  offices  are  thrown  open  to  the  public. 
Sure  of  finding  their  debtors  there,  the  creditors 
come  in  swarms,  they  come  to  torment  the  clerks 
by  asking  when  they  will  be  paid,  and  threaten  to 
obtain  an  attachment  against  their  salaries.  The 
implacable  Baudoyer  compelled  his  clerks  to  remain. 
"It  was  their  place  not  to  have  debts,"  he  said. 
He  regarded  his  severity  as  something  necessary 
for  the  public  good.  Rabourdin,  on  the  contrary, 
protected  his  clerks  from  their  creditors,  to  whom 
he  showed  the  door,  saying  that  the  offices  were  not 
open  for  transacting  private  business,  but  for  public 
business  only.  Both  offices  ridiculed  Vimeux  when 
his  spurs  clanked  through  the  corridors  and  up  the 
stairs.  Bixiou,  the  wit  of  the  ministry,  circulated 
in  the  two  divisions  of  Clergeot  and  La  Billardiere 
a  paper  at  the  head  of  which  Vimeux  was  repre- 
sented in  caricature  seated  on  a  pasteboard  horse, 
and  inviting  everyone  to  subscribe  to  buy  him  a 
real  horse.  Monsieur  Baudoyer  was  down  for  a 
bale  of  hay,  taken  from  his  private  stock,  and  each 
clerk  wrote  an  epigram  on  his  neighbor.  Vimeux, 
who  was  really  a  good-natured  fellow,  himself  sub- 
scribed under  the  name  of  Miss  Fairfax. 

Handsome  clerks  of  the  style  of  Vimeux  have 
their  salary  on  which  to  live  and  their  good  looks 


136  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

by  which  to  make  their  fortunes.  Always  attend- 
ing the  masked  balls  which  take  place  during  the 
Carnival,  they  hope  to  meet  the  good  fortune 
which  eludes  them  even  there.  Many  of  these 
clerks  end  by  marrying  either  modistes,  whom  they 
accept  weary  of  the  contest,  or  old  women,  or  else 
young  girls  whom  their  physique  has  attracted,  and 
with  whom  they  get  up  a  flirtation  sprinkled  with 
stupid  love-letters,  but  which  nevertheless  produce 
the  desired  result  These  clerks  are  sometimes 
bold;  they  see  a  woman  riding  in  her  carriage  to 
the  Champs  Elysees,  they  procure  her  address,  they 
send  her  impassioned  love-letters  at  every  oppor- 
tunity, and  find  an  occasion  which  unhappily 
encourages  this  ignoble  practice. 

This  Bixiou — pronounce  it  Bisiou — was  a  draughts- 
man who  ridiculed  Dutocq  as  well  as  Rabourdin, 
whom  he  nicknamed  the  virtuous  Rabourdin.  In 
order  to  explain  the  vulgarity  of  his  chief,  he  called 
him  the  Place  Baudqyer;  he  nicknamed  the  vaude- 
villist  Flonflon.  Without  doubt  the  most  high- 
minded  man  of  the  division  and  of  the  ministry, 
but  clever  after  the  fashion  of  a  monkey,  without 
aim  or  object,  Bixiou  was  so  useful  to  Baudoyer 
and  to  Godard,  that  they  protected  him  notwith- 
standing his  misconduct,  and  he  hurried  through 
their  business  very  quickly.  Bixiou  desired  the 
place  of  Godard  or  of  du  Bruel,  but  his  conduct 
interfered  with  his  advancement  Sometimes  he 
sneered  at  the  offices,  and  that  was  when  he  had 
just  made  some  good  hit,  as  the  publication  of  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  t^f 

portraits  in  the  Fuald^s  case — for  which  he  drew 
faces  at  random — or  his  drawings  of  those  who  fig- 
ured in  the  debates  on  the  Castaing  case.  At 
other  times,  seized  by  the  desire  to  attain  a  higher 
position,  he  applied  -himself  to  his  work;  then 
again  he  left  it  to  write  a  vaudeville  which  he 
never  finished.  An  egotist,  avaricious  and  also 
lavish  at  the  same  time,  that  is  to  say,  he  only  spent 
his  money  on  himself;  blunt,  aggressive  and  indis- 
creet, he  returned  evil  for  evil ;  he  especially  attacked 
the  weak,  respecting  nothing,  and  believing  in 
nothing,  neither  in  France,  in  God,  in  art,  in  the 
Greeks,  in  the  Turks,  in  Champ-d'Asile  nor  in  the 
monarchy,  insulting  above  everything  what  he  was 
incapable  of  understanding.  It  was  he  who  first 
painted  a  black  cap  on  the  head  of  Charles  X.  on  a 
five-franc  piece.  He  mimicked  Doctor  Gall  when  he 
was  delivering  his  lectures  so  that  the  best-dressed 
diplomats  burst  their  neckties  laughing.  The  chief 
jokes  of  this  terrible  caricaturist  consisted  in  heat- 
ing the  stoves  to  their  utmost,  so  as  to  give  colds  to 
those  who  imprudently  ventured  out  of  his  over- 
heated room,  and  he  had  in  addition  the  satisfaction 
of  consuming  the  government  wood.  Famous  for 
his  jokes,  he  varied  them  with  so  much  skill  that 
he  always  obtained  a  victim.  His  great  secret  in 
this  kind  of  work  was  to  find  out  what  each  one 
wished;  he  knew  the  road  to  all  the  castles  in 
Spain,  to  the  dreams  about  which  a  man  may  be 
mystified  because  he  is  inclined  to  believe  them 
himself,  and  he  would  hoodwink  one  for  hours  at  a 


138  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

time.  Thus  this  profound  observer,  who  possessed 
the  greatest  tact  in  playing  a  joke,  had  not  the 
faculty  of  using  this  power  to  induce  men  to  further 
his  fortune  or  to  advance  his  promotion.  The  per- 
son he  took  most  pleasure  in  teasing  was  the  young 
La  Billardi^re,  his  bete  noire,  his  nightmare,  whom 
nevertheless  he  was  constantly  wheedling,  so  that 
he  could  torment  him  with   greater  success.     He 

wrote  him  love-letters  signed  "Comtesse  de  M ," 

or  "Marquise  de  B ,"  thus  drawing  him  on  f^te- 

days  to  the  foyer  of  the  Opera,  in  front  of  the  clock, 
and  let  him  loose  to  some  grisette,  after  having 
made  fun  of  him  before  everyone.  He  allied  him- 
self with  Dutocq — whom  he  considered  a  serious 
jester — because  of  his  hatred  toward  Rabourdin  and 
his  high  idea  of  Baudoyer,  and  aided  him  willingly. 
Jean- Jacques  Bixiou  was  the  grandson  of  a  grocer 
in  Paris.  His  father,  who  was  a  colonel  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  left  his  son  under  the  care  of  his  grand- 
mother, who  had  married  for  her  second  husband 
her  head-clerk,  named  Descoings,  and  who  died  in 
1822.  When  the  youth  left  college,  finding  himself 
without  occupation,  he  attempted  painting,  and 
notwithstanding  the  friendship  which  bound  him  to 
Joseph  Bridau,  the  friend  of  his  childhood,  he  gave 
up  painting,  and  devoted  himself  to  making  carica- 
tures, vignettes,  and  illustrating  books,  which 
twenty  years  later  were  called  illustrations.  The 
protection  of  the  Dues  de  Maufrigneuse  and  de 
Rhetore,  with  whom  he  became  acquainted  through 
the  danseuses,  procured  him  his  position  in  1819. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 39 

On  good  terms  with  des  Lupeaulx,  with  whom 
in  society  he  was  on  an  equal  footing,  very 
familiar  with  du  Bruel,  he  was  a  living  example  of 
Rabourdin's  observations  relative  to  the  constant 
deterioration  of  the  administrative  hierarchy  in 
Paris,  through  the  personal  importance  which  a 
man  may  acquire  outside  of  the  bureaus.  Short, 
but  well-formed,  with  delicate  features,  remarkable 
for  a  vague  resemblance  to  Napoleon,  thin  lips,  a 
flat,  straight  chin,  chestnut  whiskers,  twenty-seven 
years  old,  blond,  with  thrilling  voice  and  spark- 
ling eye — such  was  Bixiou.  This  man,  so  sensible 
and  witty,  was  carried  away  by  all  kinds  of  pleas- 
ures, which  plunged  him  into  continual  dissipation. 
A  tireless  hunter  after  grisettes,  a  smoker,  a  jester, 
a  man  who  dined  out  and  attended  many  supper 
parties,  always  tuned  to  the  highest  pitch,  as  brill- 
iant in  the  green-room  as  in  the  balls  given  by  the 
grisettes  in  the  Allee  des  Veuves,  he  was  as  witty 
at  table  as  on  a  pleasure  party,  as  gay  at  mid- 
night in  the  streets  as  in  the  morning  when  he 
first  jumped  out  of  bed;  but  gloomy  and  sad  at 
heart,  as  is  the  case  with  most  comedians.  Launched 
in  the  world  of  actors  and  actresses,  of  writers  and 
artists,  and  of  certain  women  of  uncertain  fortunes, 
he  lived  well,  went  to  the  play  without  paying, 
played  at  Frascati  and  often  won.  Moreover,  this 
artist,  really  profound,  but  only  by  flashes,  swung 
to  and  fro  in  life  like  a  swing,  without  thinking  of 
the  time  when  the  cord  would  break.  His  lively 
wit,  his  profusion  of  ideas,  caused  him  to  be  courted 


140  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

by  all  who  were  accustomed  to  appreciate  brilliancy 
of  intellect;  but  not  one  of  his  friends  liked  him. 
Incapable  of  withholding  a  witty  saying,  he  would 
compromise  his  two  neighbors  at  table  before  the 
first  course  was  served.  Notwithstanding  his  out- 
ward gaiety,  the  spirit  of  dissatisfaction  with  his 
social  position  would  pierce  his  sayings;  he  aspired 
higher,  while  the  fatal  demon  hidden  in  his  soul 
prevented  him  from  possessing  the  gravity  which 
imposes  so  much  on  fools.  He  lived  in  Rue  Pon- 
thieu,  on  the  second  floor,  where  he  had  three 
rooms  which  were  given  up  to  the  disorder  of  a 
bachelor's  establishment,  a  true  bivouac.  He  often 
talked  of  leaving  France  and  of  going  to  wrest  his 
fortune  in  America.  No  sorcerer  could  foretell  the 
future  of  a  young  man  whose  talents  were  undevel- 
oped, who  was  incapable  of  perseverance,  always 
intoxicated  with  pleasure,  and  who  lived  as  rapidly 
as  though  the  world  were  going  to  end  to-morrow. 
As  to  his  dress,  he  had  the  merit  of  never  being 
ridiculous,  and  he  was  perhaps  the  only  one  of  all 
the  ministry  of  whom  it  could  not  be  said,  "There 
goes  a  government  clerk."  He  wore  elegant  boots, 
black  trousers  strapped  down,  a  fancy  vest,  a 
pretty  blue  coat,  a  collar — always  presented  to  him 
by  a  grisette — one  of  Bandoni's  hats,  and  a  pair  of 
dark  kid  gloves.  He  carried  himself  with  the  air  of 
a  cavalier,  yet  unaffected  and  not  lacking  in  grace. 
Thus  when  he  was  summoned  by  des  Lupeaulx  to 
account  for  some  too  great  impertinence  toward 
the  Baron  de  la  Billardi^re,  and  threatened  with 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  141 

dismissal,  he  contented  himself  by  replying:  "You 
will  take  me  back  because  I  dress  so  well."  At 
this  des  Lupeaulx  could  not  help  laughing. 

The  most  harmless  joke  which  Bixiou  played  at 
the  office  was  that  aimed  at  Godard,  to  whom  he 
presented  a  butterfly  just  brought  from  China, 
which  the  deputy  chief  treasures  in  his  collection 
and  still  shows  to-day,  without  having  recognized 
that  it  is  only  painted  paper.  Bixiou  had  the 
patience  to  work  over  the  masterpiece  so  that  he 
might  play  a  hoax  on  his  superior. 

The  devil  always  places  a  martyr  near  a  Bixiou. 
Baudoyer's  office  now  held  the  victim,  a  poor 
copying-clerk,  twenty-two  years  old,  with  a  salary 
of  fifteen  hundred  francs.  His  name  was  Auguste- 
Jean-Frangois  Minard.  Minard  had  married,  for  love, 
an  artificial  flower  maker,  a  daughter  of  a  porter; 
this  young  woman  had  worked  at  home  for  Mademoi- 
selle Godard's  establishment  Minard  had  met  her 
in  the  shop  in  Rue  de  Richelieu.  Being  unmarried, 
Zelie  Lorain  had  often  dreamed  of  changing  her  con- 
dition. At  first  she  became  a  pupil  at  the  Conserva- 
tory, then  by  turns  a  dancer,  a  singer  and  an  actress ; 
she  had  even  dreamed  of  doing  as  many  working 
girls  do,  but  the  fear  of  suffering  and  of  falling  into 
frightful  misery  had  preserved  her  from  vice.  She 
hesitated  as  to  many  courses,  when  Minard  luckily 
appeared  upon  the  scene  with  a  proposition  of  mar- 
riage in  his  hand.  Zelie  earned  five  hundred  francs 
a  year,  Minard  earned  fifteen  hundred.  Believing 
that  they  could  live  on  two  thousand  francs,  they 


142  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

married  without  settlements,  and  started  to  live 
very  economically.  Minard  and  Zelie  lived  like  two 
turtle-doves,  near  the  Barri^re  de  Courcelles,  in  an 
apartment  on  the  third  floor,  for  which  they  paid 
three  hundred  francs  a  year ;  with  white  cotton  cur- 
tains to  the  windows,  cheap  Scotch  paper,  costing 
fifteen  sous  a  roll  on  the  walls,  polished  floors,  wal- 
nut furniture,  and  a  little  kitchen  kept  very  neat 
and  clean.  This  apartment  consisted,  in  the  first 
place,  of  a  little  room  in  which  Zelie  made  her 
flowers,  then  a  parlor  furnished  with  chairs  uphol- 
stered in  horse-hair,  a  round  table  in  the  centre,  a 
mirror,  a  clock  representing  a  revolving  glass  foun- 
tain, gilded  candelabra  enveloped  in  gauze,  and  a 
bed-room  in  white  and  blue,  containing  a  bed,  a 
chest  of  drawers,  a  mahogany  writing-desk,  a  little 
striped  rug  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  six  arm-chairs 
and  four  chairs;  and  in  a  corner  was  the  cradle  in 
cherry,  where  her  little  son  and  daughter  slept 
Zelie  nursed  her  children  herself,  attended  to  the 
kitchen  department,  made  her  artificial  flowers,  and 
kept  her  home  in  order.  There  was  something 
touching  in  this  happy  and  laborious  mediocrity. 
Feeling  that  she  was  loved  by  Minard,  Zelie  loved 
him  dearly.  Love  attracts  love — it  is  the  abyssus 
abyssum  of  the  Bible.  This  poor  man  arose  in  the 
morning  while  his  wife  slept,  and  went  out  to  get 
her  some  provisions.  He  carried  the  flowers  she 
had  finished,  on  his  way  to  the  office ;  and  on  return- 
ing he  brought  her  more  material  to  make  up,  then, 
while  waiting  for  dinner,  he  cut  or  stamped  leaves. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  143 

trimmed  the  stems,  prepared  her  colors.  Small, 
thin,  wiry,  nervous,  with  crisp  red  hair,  eyes  of  a 
light  yellow,  a  skin  of  dazzling  whiteness,  but 
marked  by  freckles,  he  was  possessed  of  a  quiet 
courage  which  made  no  show.  He  understood  the 
science  of  writing  as  well  as  Vimeux.  At  the  office 
he  was  very  quiet;  he  did  his  work,  and  maintained 
the  reserved  air  of  a  man  who  suffers  and  thinks. 
His  white  eyelashes  and  his  scanty  eyebrows  caused 
the  implacable  Bixiou  to  name  him  The  white 
rabbit.  Minard — this  Rabourdin  in  a  lower  sphere 
— was  extremely  desirous  of  placing  his  Zelie  in 
better  circumstances,  and  he  searched  the  ocean  of 
the  wants  of  luxury  and  Parisian  industry,  in  the 
hope  of  gaining  an  idea,  of  making  a  discovery, 
an  improvement  on  something,  thereby  gaining  a 
sudden  fortune.  His  apparent  stupidity  was  pro- 
duced by  the  continual  tension  of  his  mind;  he 
examined  into  the  Sultana  Double  Paste,  into 
Cephalic  Oils,  steel  and  flint  for  portable  gas, 
jointed  sockets  for  hydrostatic  lamps,  thus  looking 
into  all  the  infinite  little  inventions  of  material  civ- 
ilization. He  bore  Bixiou's  jests  as  a  busy  man 
bears  the  humming  of  an  insect;  he  was  not  even 
annoyed  by  them,  Bixiou,  notwithstanding  his 
cleverness,  never  perceived  the  profound  contempt 
in  which  Minard  held  him.  Minard  did  not  care  to 
quarrel  with  him;  he  viewed  it  as  a  waste  of  time. 
Thus  his  persecutor  was  wearied  out  Minard 
came  to  the  office  very  simply  clad,  wearing  duck 
trousers  until  October,  clad  in  shoes  and  gaiters,  a 


144  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

goatskin  vest,  a  beaver  coat  in  winter  and  of  coarse 
merino  in  summer,  a  straw  hat  or  a  silk  hat  worth 
eleven  francs,  according  to  the  seasons,  for  his 
delight  was  his  Zelie;  he  would  even  go  without 
food  so  that  he  could  buy  her  a  dress.  He  break- 
fasted with  his  wife  and  ate  nothing  while  at  the 
ofifice.  Once  a  month  he  took  Zelie  to  the  theatre 
with  tickets  given  him  by  du  Bruel  or  Bixiou,  for 
Bixiou  did  everything,  even  a  kindness.  Zelie's 
mother  left  her  own  home  on  such  occasions  and 
took  care  of  the  children.  Minard  had  replaced 
Vimeux  in  Baudoyer's  department.  Monsieur  and 
Madame  Minard  paid  their  visits  to  him  on  New 
Year's  Day.  In  seeing  them,  one  naturally  wonders 
how  the  wife  of  a  poor  clerk,  on  a  salary  of  fifteen 
hundred  francs,  could  manage  to  have  her  husband 
dressed  in  a  black  suit,  and  how  she  could  afford 
Leghorn  hats  with  flowers,  embroidered  muslin 
dresses,  silk  mantles,  prunella  shoes,  elaborate 
fichus,  a  Chinese  parasol,  and  could  drive  up  in  a 
hackney-coach,  and  yet  remain  a  virtuous  woman, 
while  Madame  Colleville  and  such  ladies  could 
scarcely  make  both  ends  meet,  and  they  had  two 
thousand  four  hundred  francs  income! — 

In  these  offices  were  two  clerks  who  were  such 
close  friends  as  to  seem  almost  ridiculous,  for  every- 
thing is  ridiculed  at  the  office.  He  who  was  in 
Baudoyer's  office  was  named  Colleville;  he  was 
chief-clerk,  and  if  the  Restoration  had  not  taken 
place  he  would  have  been  deputy-chief  or  even 
head-chief  long  before  this.     In  Madame  Colleville 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I45 

he  possessed  a  wife  as  superior  in  her  way  as 
Madame  Rabourdin  was  in  hers.  Colleville — the 
son  of  a  first-violin  at  the  Opera — fell  in  love  with 
the  daughter  of  a  celebrated  dancer.  Flavie  Mi- 
noret,  one  of  those  capable  and  charming  Parisians 
who  know  how  to  make  their  husbands  happy,  at 
the  same  time  preserving  their  own  liberty,  made 
the  Colleville  home  the  resort  of  the  best  artists, 
and  orators  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  At  her 
house  the  humble  position  in  which  Colleville  was 
placed  was  scarcely  referred  to.  Flavie's  conduct — 
she  was  a  little  too  prolific — offered  such  a  field  for 
scandal  that  Madame  Rabourdin  had  refused  all  her 
invitations.  Colleville's  friend,  named  Thuillier, 
filled  a  place  in  Rabourdin's  office  exactly  the  same 
as  Colleville's  position,  and  like  causes  had  hindered 
his  administrative  advancement,  which  had  pre- 
vented Colleville's  promotion.  Everyone  who 
knew  Colleville  knew  Thuillier,  and  vice  versa. 
Their  friendship,  which  originated  at  the  office,  was 
brought  about  by  the  coincidence  of  their  entering 
the  Civil  Service.  The  pretty  Madame  Colleville,  so 
they  said  in  the  office,  accepted  the  attentions  of 
Thuillier,  whom  his  wife  had  left  without  children. 
Thuillier,  who  was  called  the  handsome  Thuillier, 
who  had  had  much  success  with  the  fair  sex,  led  a 
life  as  lazy  as  that  of  Colleville  was  busy.  Colle- 
ville was  first-clarionet  at  the  Opera  Comique, 
he  kept  books  in  the  morning,  and  underwent  much 
exertion  to  bring  up  his  family,  although  he  was 
not  without  influential   friends.     He  was  regarded 


146  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

as  a  very  shrewd  man,  the  more  so  that  he  hid  his 
ambition  under  a  kind  of  indifference.  Apparently 
content  with  his  lot,  loving  his  work,  he  found 
everyone,  even  the  chiefs,  ready  to  further  his 
brave  career.  For  the  last  few  days  only,  Madame 
CoUeville  had  reformed  her  household  regime,  and 
had  become  very  devout;  by  which  means,  it  was 
vaguely  hinted  in  the  offices,  she  hoped  to  gain 
through  the  Church  a  firmer  foothold  than  by  the 
famous  orator  Frangois  Keller,  one  of  her  most  con- 
stant admirers,  whose  influence  had  not  yet  been 
able  to  obtain  a  higher  position  for  CoUeville. 
Flavie  then  made  the  mistake  of  appealing  to  des 
Lupeaulx.  CoUeville  was  very  fond  of  reading  the 
horoscopes  of  famous  men  in  the  anagrams  of  their 
names.  He  passed  entire  months  in  taking  apart 
and  rearranging  names  in  order  to  discover  thereby 
a  meaning.  Un  corse  la  finira,  found  in  Revolution 
francaise; — l^ierge  de  son  mari ; — from  Marie  de 
Figneros,  niece  of  the  Cardinal  de  Richelieu; — Hen- 
rici  met  casta  dea,  from  Catharina  de  Medicis; — Eh  1 
c'est  large  ne^.  from  Charles  Genest,  the  abbe  at  the 
court  of  Louis  XIV.,  who  was  greatly  celebrated  for 
his  large  nose  which  amused  the  Due  de  Bourgogne; 
in  short,  all  known  anagrams  were  a  marvel  to 
CoUeville.  Raising  the  anagram  to  the  level  of  a 
science,  he  pretended  that  the  lot  of  every  man  was 
written  in  the  phrase  which  was  produced  by  the 
combination  of  the  letters  of  his  name,  Christian 
name  and  title.  Ever  since  the  accession  of 
Charles  X.,  he  busied  himself  over  the  anagram  of 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I47 

the  king.  Thuillier,  who  sometimes  made  puns, 
pretended  that  an  anagram  was  a  pun  in  letters. 
That  Colleville,  who  was  a  man  of  feeling,  should 
be  so  indissolubly  attached  to  Thuillier,  a  model 
egotist,  presented  an  insoluble  problem  which  many 
clerks  of  the  division  explained  after  this  fashion : 
"Thuillier  is  rich  and  Colleville's  housekeeping 
weighs  upon  him  heavily!"  In  other  words, 
Thuillier  was  thought  to  add  to  the  emoluments  of 
his  position  the  advantages  of  the  discount  He 
was  often  sought  for  to  confer  with  merchants,  with 
whom  he  had  conferences  in  the  court,  which  lasted 
several  minutes,  about  Mademoiselle  Thuillier,  his 
sister.  This  friendship,  consolidated  by  time,  was 
based  on  sentiment,  on  very  natural  foundations 
which  will  find  mention  elsewhere — see  Les  Petits 
Bourgeois — which  if  given  here  would  come  under 
the  heading  called  by  the  critics  tedious.  Notwith- 
standing this  it  may  not  be  useless  to  make  this 
observation,  that  if  Madame  Colleville  was  well 
known  in  the  bureaux,  Madame  Thuillier's  existence 
was  almost  unknown.  Colleville,  an  active  man, 
who  had  children  to  bring  up,  was  fat,  round  and 
jolly,  while  Thuillier,  the  beau  of  the  Empire,  with- 
out apparent  cares,  was  lazy,  slender,  and  had  a  pale 
and  almost  melancholy  face. 

"We  never  know,"  said  Rabourdin,  in  speaking 
of  these  two  clerks,  "whether  our  friendships  are 
oftener  born  of  contrasts  or  of  resemblances." 

Unlike  the  Siamese  twins,  Chazelle  and  Paulmier 
were  two  clerks  who  were  always  at  war ;  one  of  them 


148  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

smoked,  the  other  took  snuff,  and  they  disputed  in- 
cessantly as  to  which  was  the  best  way  of  using 
tobacco.  One  fault  which  was  common  to  both  and 
which  rendered  them  each  equally  annoying  to  the 
other  clerks,  was  their  incessant  wrangling  over  the 
changes  in  prices,  of  the  price  of  small  peas,  of  the 
price  of  mackerel,  of  materials,  the  umbrellas,  coats, 
hats,  canes  and  gloves  of  their  colleagues.  They 
boasted  emulatingly  of  new  discoveries  by  which 
neither  profited.  Chazelle  collected  the  prospectuses 
of  the  book-stores,  advertisem.ents  in  lithograph  or 
drawings;  but  he  never  subscribed  to  anything. 
Paulmier,  Chazelle's  colleague  at  talking  nonsense, 
passed  his  time  by  saying  that  if  he  had  such  and 
such  a  fortune  he  would  treat  himself  to  so  and  so. 
One  day  Paulmier  called  on  the  famous  Dauriat  to 
compliment  him  on  having  induced  the  book-sellers 
to  produce  some  books  in  satin,  with  printed  covers, 
begging  him  to  persevere  in  this  direction  of  improve- 
ment, while  Paulmier  himself  did  not  possess  a  book ! 
Chazelle's  household  was  tyrannized  over  by  his 
v/ife, — although  he  wished  to  appear  independent,— 
and  furnished  Paulmier  endless  subject  for  ridicule; 
while  Paulmier,  a  bachelor  often  half-starved  like 
Vimeux,  presented  Chazelle  with  a  fruitful  source 
of  ridicule,  by  his  threadbare  clothes  and  his  dis- 
guised poverty.  Chazelle  and  Paulmier  were  acquir- 
ing a  paunch;  that  of  Chazelle  was  round,  small, 
pointed,  and  had,  according  to  Bixiou's  saying,  the 
impertinence  of  always  entering  first;  Paulmier's 
stomach  swayed  from  right  to  left;  Bixiou  made 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I49 

them  get  measured  once  every  three  months.  Both 
these  men  were  between  thirty  and  forty  years  of 
age,  both  were  silly  enough;  doing  nothing  outside 
the  office,  they  presented  the  type  of  the  pure-blood 
clerk,  stupefied  by  red  tape,  by  long  association  with 
the  offices.  Chazelle  often  went  to  sleep  while  work- 
ing; and  his  pen,  which  he  always  held  in  his 
hand,  marked  little  dots  which  registered  his  breath- 
ing. Paulmier  attributed  this  sleepiness  to  the 
exigences  of  married  life.  In  reply  to  this  jest, 
Chazelle  accused  Paulmier  of  drinking  herb  tea  four 
months  out  of  the  twelve  every  year,  and  told  him 
he  would  die  for  love  of  a  grisette.  Paulmier 
demonstrated  then  that  Chazelle  should  mark  on 
an  almanac  the  days  when  Madame  Chazelle  found 
him  in  good  humor.  These  two  clerks,  by  dint  of 
washing  their  soiled  linen  by  reproaching  each 
other  on  account  of  the  most  minute  details  of  their 
private  lives,  obtained  the  disrepute  they  merited. 

"Do  you  take  me  for  a  Chazelle.?"  was  a  word 
which  was  sufficient  to  end  a  tiresome,  annoying 
discussion. 

Monsieur  Poiret,  Jr.,  called  junior  to  distinguish 
him  from  his  brother,  Poiret  the  elder,  who  had 
retired  to  the  Vauquer  house,  where  Poiret,  Jr., 
sometimes  dined,  who  intended  also  to  end  his  days 
there — had  been  in  the  service  thirty  years.  Nature 
is  not  so  invariable  in  her  revolutions  as  this  poor 
man  was  in  the  acts  of  his  life;  he  always  put  his 
things  in  the  same  place,  placed  his  pen  on  the  same 
rack,  sat  in  his  place  at  the  same  hour,  warmed 


150  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

himself  at  the  stove  at  a  certain  moment,  for  his 
only  vanity  consisted  in  carrying  a  watch  which 
kept  perfect  time ;  this  he  regulated  every  day  as 
he  walked  by  the  City  Hall,  before  which  he  passed, 
as  he  lived  in  Rue  du  Martroi.  From  six  to  eight 
o'clock  every  morning  he  kept  the  books  of  a  large 
business  house  which  dealt  in  novelties,  situated  in 
the  Rue  Saint-Antoine,  and  from  six  to  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  those  of  Camusot  of  Rue  des  Bour- 
donnais.  By  this  means  he  gained  three  thousand 
francs  a  year,  including  his  ofticial  salary.  In  a  few 
months  more  it  would  be  time  for  him  to  retire  on  a 
pension,  and  so  he  showed  the  greatest  indifference 
about  the  intrigues  in  the  offices.  Like  his  brother, 
whose  withdrawal  from  service  had  been  to  him  a 
great  blow,  he  would  no  doubt  perceptibly  fail  in 
health  when  he  could  no  longer  go  from  Rue  du  Mar- 
troi to  the  ministry,  seat  himself  in  his  chair  and  get 
through  with  his  work.  He  had  been  assigned  the 
duty  of  collecting  the  journal  for  which  the  bureau 
subscribed,  and  that  of  the  Moniteur.  He  became  a 
fanatic  about  this  collection;  if  any  clerk  lost  a 
number, — took  it  away  and  did  not  return  it, — 
Poiret,  Jr.,  felt  himself  called  upon  to  leave,  went 
immediately  to  the  office  of  the  journal,  re- 
claimed the  missing  number  and  returned  enthu- 
siastic over  the  politeness  of  the  cashier.  He  had 
always  had  business  with  an  agreeable  fellow, 
and  according  to  his  account,  journalists  were 
decidedly  delightful  people  who  were  little  known. 
A  man  of  middle  height,  Poiret  had  very  dull  eyes, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  151 

a  feeble  glance  without  warmth,  leather-like  skin, 
wrinkled  and  of  a  grayish  hue  speckled  with  bluish 
dots,  a  flat  nose,  and  a  mouth  drawn  inward,  in 
which  remained  a  few  decayed  teeth.  Thuillier 
said  that  it  was  useless  for  Poiret  to  look  at  the 
mirror,  as  he  no  longer  saw  himself  dedans — in  it  pro- 
nounced like  de  dents,  of  teeth.  His  thin  long  arms 
were  terminated  by  large  hands  which  were  by  no 
means  white.  His  gray  hair,  flattened  by  the 
pressure  of  his  hat,  gave  him  the  air  of  an  ecclesi- 
astic, a  resemblance  which  was  not  very  flattering 
to  him,  for  he  hated  priests  and  the  clergy  gen- 
erally, without  being  able  to  explain  his  religious 
views.  This  antipathy  did  not  hinder  him  from 
being  very  much  attached  to  the  government,  what- 
ever it  happened  to  be.  He  never  buttoned  his  old 
green  overcoat,  even  in  extreme  cold ;  he  wore  laced 
shoes  only  and  black  trousers.  He  bought  his 
clothes  from  the  same  stores  for  thirty  years. 
When  his  tailor  died  he  asked  leave  of  absence  to 
go  to  his  funeral,  and  pressed  the  hand  of  the  son 
over  the  grave  of  his  father,  at  the  same  time 
assuring  him  of  his  patronage.  A  friend  of  all 
tradesmen,  he  kept  himself  informed  about  their 
affairs,  talked  with  them,  listened  to  their  griev- 
ances and  paid  them  promptly.  If  he  wrote  to  one 
of  these  gentlemen  to  change  an  order  he  had  given, 
he  took  care  to  write  in  the  most  polite  manner, 
placing  Monsieur  on  a  line  by  itself,  dating  and 
making  a  rough  copy  of  the  letter,  which  he  kept  in 
a  box  labeled:  My  correspondence.    No  life  could  be 


152  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

more  according  to  rule.  Poiret  kept  all  his  paid 
bills,  all  his  receipts,  even  the  smallest,  and  his 
books  of  annual  expenses  were  tied  up  in  bundles 
and  placed  away  by  years;  this  he  did  ever 
since  his  entry  into  the  ministry.  He  dined  at 
the  same  restaurant — buying  a  season  ticket — 
The  Sticking  Calf,  in  the  Place  du  Chatelet;  and 
sat  there  each  day  in  the  same  seat; — for  the 
waiters  kept  his  place  for  him.  He  never  gave  to 
the  Cocon  d'Or,  the  famous  silk  house,  five  min- 
utes, overtime;  at  half-past  eight  he  arrived  at  the 
Cafe  David,  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Quartier, 
and  stayed  there  until  eleven  o'clock;  he  remained 
faithful  to  it  as  he  did  to  TTie  Sucking  Calf,  for  thirty 
years,  and  called  for  a  bavaroise  at  half-past  ten. 
There  he  listened  to  political  discussions,  his  arms 
crossed  on  his  cane,  and  his  chin  resting  in  his  right 
hand,  without  ever  taking  part  in  them  himself.  The 
woman  at  the  desk — the  only  woman  to  whom  he 
spoke  with  pleasure — was  his  confidante  as  to  the 
little  events  of  his  life,  for  his  place  at  the  table 
was  near  the  desk.  He  played  dominoes — the 
only  game  he  understood.  When  his  partners  did 
not  come,  he  sometimes  went  to  sleep,  his  back 
against  the  wainscoting,  while  holding  a  journal, 
the  wooden  file  of  which  rested  on  the  marble 
table.  He  maintained  his  interest  in  everything 
that  went  on  in  Paris,  and  devoted  Sunday  to 
examining  new  buildings.  He  questioned  the  old 
soldier  whose  business  it  was  to  prevent  the  public 
from   entering  the  fenced-off  enclosure,   and  was 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  153 

worried  at  the  delays  yihich  the  buildings  en- 
countered in  consequence  of  lack  of  material  or  of 
money,  or  of  difficulties  which  the  architect  ex- 
perienced. He  was  heard  to  say,  "1  have  seen  the 
Louvre  emerge  from  its  rubbish,  I  have  seen  the 
birth  of  the  Place  du  Ch^telet,  the  Quai  aux  Fleurs, 
the  markets."  He  and  his  brother  were  born  at 
Troyes;  they  were  the  sons  of  a  tax-collector's  clerk 
and  had  been  sent  to  Paris  to  study  in  the  Civil 
Service  departments.  Their  mother  was  conspic- 
uous for  her  disastrous  misconduct,  for  the  two 
brothers  had  the  grief  of  hearing  of  her  death  at 
the  hospital  of  Troyes,  notwithstanding  the  many 
remittances  of  funds.  These  two  men  then  swore 
not  only  never  to  marry,  but  they  had  a  great 
antipathy  to  children,  and  were  ill  at  ease  in  their 
presence ;  they  feared  them  as  some  people  fear  the 
insane,  and  watched  them  with  haggard  eyes. 
Both  of  them  had  been  overworked  under  the 
regime  of  Robert  Lindet  At  that  time  the  admin- 
istration had  not  treated  them  justly,  but  they 
thought  themselves  happy  in  having  preserved  their 
heads,  and  complained  of  this  ingratitude  only  to 
each  other,  for  they  had  reached  the  highest  When 
they  played  the  trick  on  Phellion  by  causing  his 
famous  phrase  to  be  reconstructed  by  Rabourdin, 
Poiret  took  Phellion  aside  in  the  hall  as  he  went  out 
and  said  to  him: 

"Believe  truly,  sir,  that  I  have  opposed,  as  far  as 
was  in  my  power,  what  has  just  taken  place." 

Since  his  arrival  in  Paris  he  had  never  left  the 


154  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

city.  From  that  time  he  began  a  journal  of  his  life 
in  which  he  noted  the  principal  events  of  the  day. 
Du  Bruei  told  him  that  Lord  Byron  also  did  so;  and 
this  resemblance  filled  Poiret  with  joy,  and  led  him 
to  buy  the  works  of  Lord  Byron,  translated  by 
Chastopalli,  of  which  he  did  not  understand  a  word. 
He  was  often  surprised  in  a  melancholy  attitude  at 
the  office,  and  he  had  the  air  of  a  profound  thinker, 
while  he  was  thinking  of  nothing.  He  had  not 
become  acquainted  with  even  one  of  the  tenants  in 
the  house  where  he  lived,  and  he  always  kept  by 
him  the  key  to  his  domicile.  On  New  Year's  Day, 
he  left  his  cards  personally  at  the  houses  of  all  the 
clerks  of  the  division,  although  he  never  made 
visits. 

Bixiou  took  it  into  his  head,  one  very  hot 
day,  to  grease  with  lard  the  interior  of  an  old  hat 
which  Poiret  Jr. — he  was  fifty-two  years  old — had 
worn  for  nine  years.  Bixiou,  who  had  never  seen 
Poiret  wear  any  other  hat,  dreamed  of  it ;  he  saw  it 
before  him  even  when  eating;  he  therefore  resolved, 
in  the  interest  of  his  digestion,  to  rid  the  office  of 
this  unsightly  hat  Poiret  Jr.  went  out  about  four 
o'clock.  On  going  into  the  streets  of  Paris  where 
the  rays  of  the  sun  are  reflected  by  the  pavement 
and  the  walls  produce  tropical  heat,  he  felt  that  his 
head  was  saturated,  although  he  rarely  perspired. 
Feeling  that  he  was  either  ill  or  about  to  become  so, 
he  went  home  instead  of  going  to  The  Sticking  Calf, 
took  his  diary  from  his  writing-desk  and  made  the 
following  entry : 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  155 

"To-day,  the  third  of  July,  1823,  was  overtaken  by  a 
strange  perspiration,  which  perhaps  is  the  first  symptom  of 
malaria,  a  malady  peculiar  to  Champagne.  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  I  had  better  consult  Doctor  Haudry.  The  illness 
commenced  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Quai  de I'Ecole" 

Suddenly,  when  he  took  off  his  hat,  he  discovered 
that  his  perspiration  was  caused  by  something 
independent  of  his  own  person.  He  wiped  his  face, 
examined  his  hat,  but  could  discover  nothing,  for 
he  did  not  dare  to  take  out  the  lining.  All  this  he 
noted  in  his  journal : 

"  Carried  my  hat  to  Sieur  Tournan,  hat-maker.  Rue  Saint- 
Martin,  for  the  reason  that  1  have  a  suspicion  that  there  is 
some  other  cause  for  this  perspiration,  which  was  after  all  no 
perspiration,  but  the  effect  of  something  lately  added  or  for- 
merly done  to  my  hat" 

Monsieur  Tournan  immediately  told  his  customer 
that  it  was  owing  to  the  presence  of  a  greasy  sub- 
stance obtained  by  frying  the  fat  of  a  hog  or  a 
sow.  The  next  day  Poiret  came  in  wearing  a 
hat  which  he  had  borrowed  from  Monsieur  Tournan 
while  waiting  for  his  new  one;  but  before  retiring 
for  the  night  he  made  this  entry  in  his  journal: 
**//  is  asserted  that  my  hat  contained  lard,  or  the 
fat  of  a  pig."  This  inexplicable  affair  occupied 
Poiret's  attention  for  two  weeks.  He  could  not 
imagine  how  this  phenomenon  had  occurred.  At 
the  office  he  was  entertained  with  accounts  of  the 
showers  of  toads,  and  other  dog-day  wonders,  also 
that  the  head  of  Napoleon  was  found  stamped  in  the 


156  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

root  of  a  young  elm-tree,  and  a  thousand  eccentric- 
ities of  natural  history.  Vimeux  told  him  that 
one  day  his  hat — Vimeux's — had  stained  his  face 
black,  and  that  hat-makers  sold  drugs.  Poiret  went 
several  times  to  see  Sieur  Tournan,  to  post  him- 
self as  to  the  process  of  manufacturing  hats. 

In  Rabourdin's  employ  there  was  also  a  man  who 
posed  as  courageous,  who  professed  the  opinions  of 
the  Left  Centre,  and  rebelled  against  Baudoyer's 
tyrannies  which  he  displayed  toward  the  unhappy 
slaves  in  his  office.  This  youth,  named  Fleury, 
foolishly  subscribed  to  an  "opposition"  sheet,  wore 
a  gray  hat  with  a  broad  brim,  red  band  on  his 
blue  trousers,  a  blue  vest  with  gilt  buttons,  and 
an  overcoat  which  crossed  over  his  chest  like  that 
of  a  quartermaster  of  gendarmerie.  Though  un- 
yielding in  his  opinions,  he  nevertheless  remained 
in  the  office;  but  he  predicted  a  fatal  end  to  the 
government,  if  it  still  persisted  in  upholding 
religion.  He  avowed  his  sympathy  for  Napoleon, 
now  that  the  death  of  that  great  man  had  caused  the 
laws  against  the  partisans  of  the  usurper  to  become 
obsolete.  Fleury,  ex-captain  in  a  line-regiment 
under  the  Emperor,  was  a  tall,  handsome,  dark  man ; 
he  was  also  treasurer  at  the  Cirque-Olympique. 
Bixiou  never  permitted  himself  to  plague  Fleury, 
for  this  rough  trooper — who  knew  very  well  how 
to  handle  a  pistol,  and  was  an  excellent  fencer — 
appeared  capable,  should  occasion  offer,  of  resorting 
to  extreme  measures.  An  enthusiastic  subscriber 
to  yictoires  et  Conquetes,  Fleury  refused  to  pay  his 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 57 

dues,  though  he  kept  the  books,  taking  refuge  in 
the  fact  that  they  exceeded  the  number  proposed 
in  the  prospectus.  He  adored  Monsieur  Rabourdin, 
who  had  prevented  him  from  being  discharged.  He 
was  heard  to  say  that  if  ever  any  misfortune  should 
befall  Monsieur  Rabourdin,  through  anyone's  fault, 
he  would  kill  that  person.  Dutocq  basely  cringed 
to  Fleury  because  he  feared  him.  Fleury,  crippled 
by  debts,  played  many  tricks  on  his  creditors.  Ex- 
pert in  legal  affairs,  he  never  signed  promissory 
notes;  and  his  salary  was  attached  in  the  names  of 
fictitious  creditors,  so  that  he  could  get  almost  all  of 
it  himself.  Intimately  connected  with  a  supernu- 
merary in  the  Porte-Saint-Martin,  with  whom  his 
furniture  was  stored,  he  played  ecarte  with  a  happy 
heart,  was  the  life  of  receptions  because  of  his 
talents,  drank  a  glass  of  champagne  at  one  draught 
without  wetting  his  lips,  and  knew  all  Beranger's 
songs  by  heart  He  was  proud  of  his  full,  sonorous 
voice.  His  three  great  men  were  Napoleon,  Bolivar 
and  Beranger.  Foy,  Laffite  and  Casimir  Dela- 
vigne  he  only  esteemed.  Fleury,  you  can  readily 
imagine,  was  a  man  from  the  south  who  was  des- 
tined to  become  the  responsible  editor  of  some 
liberal  journal. 

Desroys,  the  mysterious  man  of  the  division,  did 
not  come  in  collision  with  anyone;  he  talked  but 
little  and  hid  his  private  life  so  carefully  that  no 
one  knew  where  he  lived,  who  were  his  protectors 
or  what  means  he  had  to  live  on.  In  trying  to  fmd 
the  cause  of  Desroys*  silence  some  thought  him  a 


158  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Carbonaro,  others  an  Orleaniste,  others  a  spy,  and 
others  again  thought  him  a  deep  thinker.  Desroys 
was  merely  the  son  of  a  member  of  the  National  Con- 
vention who  had  not  voted  for  the  death  of  the 
King.  He  was  cold  and  reserved  by  temperament, 
he  had  judged  the  world  and  relied  only  on  himself. 
Republican  at  heart,  an  admirer  of  Paul-Louis 
Courier,  a  friend  of  Michel  Chrestien,  he  looked  to 
time  and  to  public  intelligence  to  accomplish  the 
triumph  of  his  opinions  in  Europe.  He  also 
dreamed  of  the  new  Germany  and  the  new  Italy. 
His  heart  swelled  with  that  stupid  collective  love 
called  Hurnanitarianism,  the  eldest  son  of  defunct 
Philanthropy,  and  which  bears  the  same  relation  to 
the  divine  catholic  charity  as  system  does  to  art,  or 
reasoning  does  to  works.  This  conscientious  puri- 
tan of  liberty,  this  apostle  of  an  impossible  equality 
regretted  that  his  poverty  had  forced  him  to  serve 
the  government,  and  he  made  exertions  to  try  to 
find  a  position  in  the  office  of  some  forwarding 
house.  Tall,  thin,  lanky,  and  serious  like  a  man 
who  expects  to  lay  down  his  life  some  day  for  the 
great  cause,  he  lived  on  a  page  of  Volney,  studied 
Saint- Just  and  occupied  himself  in  a  vindication 
of  Robespierre,  considered  as  the  successor  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  last  of  these  people  who  merit  a  sketch 
is  the  little  La  Billardi^re.  Having  unfortunately 
lost  his  mother,  and  being  protected  by  the  min- 
ister, and  exempt  from  the  tyrannies  of  the 
Place- Bandoyer,    received    in    all    the    ministerial 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  159 

salons,  he  was  hated  by  everyone  because  of  his 
impertinence  and  his  conceit.  The  chiefs  were 
polite  to  him,  but  the  clerks  placed  him  beyond 
their  companionship  by  the  exaggerated  politeness 
they  showed  him.  Bell^tre  of  twenty-two  years, 
tall  and  slender,  with  the  manners  of  an  English- 
man, insulting  the  offices  by  his  dandified  dress; 
he  was  curled,  perfumed,  and  wore  fashionable 
collars,  yellow  gloves,  hats,  the  lining  of  which 
was  always  new;  using  an  eye-glass,  breakfasting 
at  the  Palais-Royal,  having  the  manners  of  a 
polished  dunce  who  understood  the  art  of  imitating, 
Benjamin  de  la  Billardi^re  thought  himself  a 
charming  young  man,  and  possessed  all  the  vices 
of  swell  society  without  its  graces.  Sure  of  being 
something,  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  would  write  a 
book  so  that  he  might  obtain  the  Cross  as  an  author 
and  impute  it  to  his  administrative  talent  He  flat- 
tered Bixiou  with  the  intention  of  making  use  of 
him,  but  had  not  dared  to  confide  his  project  to  him. 
This  noble  heart  waited  impatiently  for  the  death 
of  his  father  so  that  he  might  succeed  to  the  title  of 
Baron,  recently  granted;  he  wrote  on  his  cards, 
Le  Chevalier  de  la  BillardUre.  and  had  his  office  hung 
with  his  coat-of-arms  framed — a  field  azure  with 
three  stars,  and  two  swords  crossed  obliquely 
on  a  field  sable,  with  this  device:  **A  TOUJOURS 
FIDELE I  "—Having  a  mania  for  conversing  about 
heraldry,  he  asked  the  young  Vicomte  de  Portendu^re 
why  his  arms  were  so  crowded,  and  brought  forth  this 
happy  reply,  "1  did  not  have  them  made. "   He  spoke 


l6o  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

of  his  devotion  to  monarchy  and  of  the  kindness  the 
Dauphine  had  shown  him.  On  good  terms  with 
des  Lupeaulx,  he  often  breakfasted  with  him,  and 
considered  him  his  friend.  Bixiou  posed  as  his 
mentor,  and  hoped  to  rid  the  division  and  France  of 
this  young  coxcomb  by  thrusting  him  into  excesses, 
and  he  openly  avowed  his  intention. 

Such  were  the  principal  characters  in  La  Billar- 
di^re's  division,  where  were  still  other  clerks  whose 
manners  or  faces  moreor  less  resembled  those  already 
described.  In  Baudoyer's  office  were  found  clerks 
with  bald  heads,  chilly,  enveloped  in  flannel,  living 
on  the  fifth  floor,  cultivating  flowers  there,  having 
thorn  canes,  threadbare  coats,  and  always  carrying 
an  umbrella.  These  people  who  hold  the  middle 
rank  between  the  happy  porters  and  the  uncom- 
fortable workmen ;  too  far  from  the  centre  of  the 
administration  to  dream  of  any  advancement 
whatever,  represent  the  pawns  on  the  Civil 
Service  chess-board.  Happy  to  be  on  guard  so  that 
they  did  not  have  to  go  to  the  office,  ready  to  do 
anything  for  a  fee,  how  they  exist  is  a  problem 
even  for  those  who  employ  them,  and  is  an  accusa- 
tion against  the  state  which  certainly  makes  these 
people  unfortunate  by  accepting  their  services  for 
so  little.  Looking  at  these  strange  faces  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  decide  if  these  mammals  with  pens  have 
become  stupid  from  their  routine  life,  or  whether, 
being  born  somewhat  stupid,  they  pursue  this 
vocation.  Perhaps  the  fault  is  equally  divided 
between  nature  and  the  government     Someone  has 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  l6l 

said  that  "  country-people  are  unconsciously  in- 
fluenced by  atmospheric  changes  and  outward  con- 
ditions. Identified  somewhat  with  the  nature  in  the 
midst  of  which  they  live,  they  are  insensibly 
imbued  with  the  ideas  and  sentiments  which  it 
inspires  and  which  they  reproduce  in  their  actions 
and  in  their  expressions,  according  to  their  temper- 
aments and  individual  characters.  Formed  thus 
and  fashioned  long  ago  by  the  objects  by  which 
they  are  continually  surrounded,  they  are  the  most 
interesting  as  well  as  the  truest  book  for  whomso- 
ever feels  himself  drawn  toward  this  part  of  physi- 
ology, so  little  understood  and  at  the  same  time  so 
prolific,  which  explains  the  connection  which  the 
moral  being  has  with  the  external  agents  of  nature." 
But  nature,  to  a  government  clerk,  is  the  office ;  his 
horizon  is  bounded  on  all  sides  by  green  boxes;  for 
him,  atmospheric  changes  are  represented  by  the  air 
of  the  corridors,  the  masculine  exhalations  contained 
in  rooms  without  ventilators,  the  odor  of  papers 
and  pens;  his  soil  is  a  tiled  pavement  or  a  par- 
quet floor  strewn  with  curious  rubbish,  moistened 
by  the  watering-pot  of  the  office-boy;  his  sky  is 
the  ceiling  towards  which  he  looks  when  he  yawns; 
and  his  element  is  dust.  The  observations  pre- 
viously made  about  country-people  are  equally 
appropriate  to  the  government  clerks  who  are  iden- 
tified with  the  surroundings  in  the  midst  of  which 
they  live.  If  several  distinguished  doctors  dread 
the  influence  of  this  nature,  at  the  same  time  savage 
and  civilized,  on  the  moral  beings  who  spend  their 
II 


l62  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

days  in  those  dreadful  compartments  called  offices, 
where  but  little  sunlight  can  penetrate,  where 
thoughts  are  bridled  to  occupations  like  horses  who 
turn  a  crank — who  yawn  horribly  and  die  soon — 
Rabourdin,  therefore,  was  perfectly  right  in  his 
efforts  to  thin  out  the  clerks  by  giving  those  who 
remain  more  salary  and  heavier  work.  People 
never  tire  when  doing  great  things.  Besides,  the 
government  offices  as  they  are  now  constituted — 
during  the  nine  hours  their  clerks  owe  to  the  ser- 
vice,— waste  four  of  them  in  conversation,  as  we 
shall  see,  in  telling  stories,  in  disputes,  and  above 
all,  in  intrigues.  One  must  be  very  familiar  with 
the  life  in  these  offices  to  realize  to  what  point  this 
belittling  life  resembles  that  in  colleges;  but  wher- 
ever men  live  collectively,  this  similitude  is  strik- 
ing: in  the  regiment,  in  the  tribunals,  you  will  find 
the  college  on  a  more  or  less  extended  scale.  All 
these  clerks,  sitting  together  eight  hours  a  day  in 
these  offices,  looked  upon  their  work  as  a  kind  of 
class  in  which  they  had  a  task  to  do,  where  the 
chiefs  replaced  the  principal  of  the  school,  where 
the  gratuities  were  like  prizes  for  good  conduct 
given  out  to  proteges — a  place  where  they  teased 
each  other,  hated  each  other,  and  where,  notwith- 
standing, there  existed  a  sort  of  comradeship, 
but  colder  than  that  in  a  regiment,  which  itself 
is  not  so  strong  as  that  in  colleges.  As  a  man 
advances  in  life  his  egotism  develops  and  relaxes 
the  secondary  bonds  of  affection.  Besides,  is 
not  the  government  office  a  little  world  in  itself. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  163 

with  its  oddities,  its  friendships,  its  hatreds,  its 
envy  and  its  cupidity,  its  steady  onward  march 
in  spite  of  obstacles,  its  frivolous  conversation 
which  gives  so  many  wounds,  and  its  incessant 
espionage  ?  ^ 


Just  now  the  division  of  the  Barcn  de  la  Billar- 
di^re  was  a  prey  to  an  extraordinary  excitement, 
well  justified  by  the  event  which  was  just  going  to 
take  place,  for  chiefs  of  divisions  do  not  die  every 
day,  and  there  are  no  insurance  companies  in  which 
the  chances  of  life  and  death  are  calculated  more 
accurately  than  in  government  ofifices.  Self-interest 
there  stifles  all  pity,  as  it  does  in  children;  but  to 
this  the  clerks  add  hypocrisy. 

Toward  eight  o'clock  the  clerks  of  Baudoyer's 
office  arrived  at  their  post,  while  those  in  Rabour- 
din's  office  rarely  appeared  before  nine,  which  did 
not  prevent  them  from  working  much  more  rapidly 
for  Rabourdin  than  for  Baudoyer.  Dutocq  had 
grave  reasons  for  arriving  so  early.  The  evening 
before  he  had  furtively  entered  the  office  where 
Sebastien  was  at  work;  he  had  surprised  him  while 
doing  copying-work  for  Rabourdin;  he  remained 
hidden,  and  saw  Sebastien  go  away  without  any 
papers.  Certain  then  of  finding  this  very  volumi- 
nous memorandum  and  the  copy  hidden  in  some 
corner,  he  turned  over  all  the  boxes  one  after  the 
other,  and  at  last  he  found  this  terrible  list.  He 
hastened  to  the  head  of  an  autograph-printing 
house,  and  had  two  copies  of  this  work  made  by 
means  of  a  copying-press,  and  in  this  way  he  pos- 
sessed even  the  very  writing  of  Rabourdin.  In 
(165) 


l66  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

order  to  avoid  suspicion,  he  had  hastened  to  replace 
the  memorandum  in  the  box,  by  arriving  the  first 
one  at  the  office.  Sebastien,  who  was  kept  in  Rue 
Duphot  until  midnight,  was,  notwithstanding  his 
diligence,  outstripped  by  hatred.  Hatred  lived  in  Rue 
Saint-Louis-Saint-Honore  whereas  devotion  lived  in 
Rue  du  Roi-Dore,  in  the  Marais.  This  slight  delay 
pressed  heavily  on  the  entire  life  of  Rabourdin. 
Sebastien  hurried  to  open  his  box,  and  there  found 
his  unfinished  copy  and  the  memorandum  itself, 
and  locked  them  in  his  chief's  desk.  Toward  the  end 
of  December,  often,  little  light  penetrates  through 
the  offices  in  the  morning,  in  fact  there  are  some  in 
which  lamps  are  burned  until  ten  o'clock.  Sebas- 
tien, therefore,  did  not  notice  the  pressure  of  the 
copying-stone  machine  on  the  paper.  But  when 
Rabourdin  examined  his  memorandum,  about  half- 
past  nine,  he  perceived  much  better  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  autographic  process,  because  he  was 
much  occupied  in  testing  whether  these  autographic 
presses  could  do  the  work  of  copying-clerks. 

The  chief  of  the  office  sat  in  his  arm-chair,  took 
the  tongs  and  set  about  to  arrange  the  fire,  being 
greatly  absorbed  by  his  reflections;  then,  curious 
to  know  in  whose  hands  his  secret  was  held,  he  sent 
for  Sebastien. 

"Has  anyone  come  to  the  office  before  you?"  he 
asked  him. 
"Yes,"  said  Sebastien,  "Monsieur  Dutocq." 
"Well,  he  was  punctual.     Send  Antoine  to  me." 
Too   noble  to  wound  Sebastien   needlessly  by 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  167 

reproaching  him  with  a  misfortune  which  had 
already  taken  place,  Rabourdin  said  no  more  to 
him.  Antoine  came;  Rabourdin  asked  him  if  some 
clerks  had  not  remained  at  the  office  yesterday  after 
four  o'clock;  the  man  mentioned  that  Dutocq  had 
worked  later  than  Monsieur  de  la  Roche.  Rabour- 
din dismissed  him  by  a  nod  of  the  head,  and  con- 
tinued his  reflections. 

"Twice  1  have  prevented  his  discharge,"  he  said, 
"and  this  is  my  reward!" 

This  morning  was  to  the  chief  of  the  office  like 
the  solemn  moment  when  great  captains  decide  a 
battle  in  which  all  chances  are  weighed.  Being 
more  familiar  than  anyone  else  with  the  spirit  of 
the  Civil  Service,  he  knew  that  pardon  would 
be  as  difficult  to  obtain  there  for  what  resembles 
espionage  or  tale-bearing  as  at  college,  in  the  peni- 
tentiary, or  in  the  army.  A  man  who  informs 
against  his  comrades  is  disgraced,  ruined,  con- 
demned ;  in  such  a  case  the  ministers  of  state  would 
disavow  their  own  agents.  Under  such  circum- 
stances an  official  ought  to  send  in  his  resignation 
and  leave  Paris,  for  his  honor  is  forever  stained, 
explanations  are  useless,  no  one  will  ask  for  or 
listen  to  them.  A  minister  who  is  up  to  this  same 
game  is  thought  to  be  a  great  man,  for  it  is  his 
business  to  choose  men ;  but  a  simple  clerk  who 
should  do  the  same  thing  would  pass  for  a  spy,  what- 
ever his  motives.  While  fully  aware  of  the  empti- 
ness of  these  foolish  opinions,  Rabourdin  felt  their 
great  power,  and  he  also  felt  that  they  were  crushing 


l68  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

him.  More  surprised  than  cast  down,  he  sought  for 
the  best  course  to  follow  under  the  circumstances, 
and  so  he  took  no  note  of  the  excitement  in  the 
offices  which  was  occasioned  by  the  death  of  de  la 
Billardi^re;  he  only  learned  about  it  through  the  little 
de  la  Bri^re,  who  knew  how  to  appreciate  the  good 
qualities  of  the  head  of  the  office. 

Consequently,  Bixiou  was  in  Baudoyer's  office, 
about  ten  o'clock,  relating  the  history  of  the  last 
moments  of  the  director  of  the  division  to  Minard, 
Desroys  and  Monsieur  Godard,  whom  he  had  called 
from  his  private  office,  and  also  to  Dutocq,  who  had 
hastened  to  Baudoyer's  office  with  a  double  motive. 
Colleville  and  Chazelle  were  absent. 

BIXIOU — standing  In  front  of  the  stove,  turning  up  the  sole  of  one  boot  at 

a  time  to  dry  it  at  the  opening. 

'*  This  morning  at  half-past  seven,  I  went  to  ask 
after  our  worthy  and  respectable  director,  knight  of 
the  Order  of  Christ,  etc.,  etc.  Ah!  mon  Dieu,  yes, 
gentlemen,  as  late  as  yesterday  the  baron  had  twenty 
et  cceteras  to  his  name,  while  to-day  he  is  nothing, 
not  even  a  government  clerk.  I  asked  for  all  the 
details  of  his  last  night  on  earth.  His  nurse,  who 
had  no  thought  of  his  dying,  told  me  that  this 
morning,  at  five  o'clock,  he  became  anxious  about 
the  royal  family.  He  wished  to  have  read  to 
him  the  names  of  those  of  us  who  had  called  to 
inquire  after  him.  At  last  he  said,  *  Fill  my  snuff- 
box, give  me  the  paper,  bring  me  my  spectacles, 
change  my  ribbon  of  the  Legion  of  Honor — it  is 
very  much  soiled. '  You  know  he  wore  his  decorations 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  169 

in  bed.  He  had  then  full  consciousness,  retained 
his  mind,  and  also  all  his  usual  ideas.  But,  bah!  ten 
minutes  later  the  water  rose  higher,  higher,  higher 
toward  the  heart,  and  flooded  his  chest;  he  knew  that 
he  was  dying  when  he  felt  the  cysts  burst.  At  this 
fatal  moment,  he  gave  proof  of  his  powerful  mind 
and  great  intelligence!  Ah!  we  none  of  us  have 
appreciated  him!  We  used  to  laugh  at  him,  we 
called  him  an  old  fogy,  in  fact,  every  name  which 
could  be  applied  to  an  old  blockhead;  is  it  not  so, 
Monsieur  Godard?" 

GODARD. 

**  As  for  me,  I  always  considered  Monsieur  de  la 
Billardi^re's  talents  to  be  greater  than  those  of  other 
men." 

BIXIOU. 

**  You  understood  each  other." 

GODARD. 

"  After  all  he  was  not  a  bad  sort  of  man,  he  never 
did  anyone  any  harm." 

BIXIOU. 
**  In  order  to  do  wrong,  one  must  do  something, 
and  he  did  nothing.     If  it  was  not  you  who  thought 
him  altogether  incapable,  it  must  then  have  been 
Minard." 

MINARD — shrugging  his  shoulders. 
"I?" 

BIXIOU. 
"Well,  then,  was  it  you,  Dutocq? — (Dutocqinadea 

vehement  gesture  of  denial.) — Good!    then,    it    WaS    nO    One! 


170  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Every  one  here  then  thought  he  had  the  head  of  a 
Hercules!  Ah!  yes,  you  were  right;  to  the  last  he 
was  a  man  of  ability,  of  talent,  of  thought,  like  the 
great  man  that  he  was." 

DESROYS — impaUently. 

"Mon  Dieu,  what  great  thing  has  he  done?  He 
made  his  confession!" 

BIXIOU. 

"Yes,  sir,  and  he  wished  to  receive  the  Last 
Sacrament.  But,  do  you  know  what  he  did  in  order 
to  receive  it?  He  put  on  his  uniform  of  Gentle- 
man-in-Ordinary  of  the  Bed-Chamber,  all  his  orders, 
and  had  himself  powdered;  and  his  queue — that 
poor  queue! — tied  with  a  new  ribbon.  Now,  I  say 
only  a  man  of  great  character  would  order  his  queue 
dressed  in  his  dying  moments.  We  are  eight  of  us 
here,  and  not  one  of  us  would  have  done  likewise. 
This  is  not  all;  he  said — for  you  know  all  celebrated 
men  when  dying  make  a  last  speech — he  said — How 
did  he  say  it?  Ah!  'I  must  attire  myself  to  meet 
the  King  of  Heaven,  I  who  have  been  so  often  dressed 
in  my  best  to  pay  my  addresses  to  the  king  in  this 
world!'  In  this  manner  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re 
passed  his  last  moments;  he  wished  to  try  to  justify 
this  saying  of  Pythagoras:  *  Men  are  not  well  known 
until  after  their  death.'  " 

COLLEVILLE — mttrtng. 

"Gentlemen,  I  bring  you  great  news." 

ALL. 

"  We  know  it  already." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I71 

COLLEVILLE. 

"  I  defy  you  to  know  it!  I  have  been  looking  for 
it  ever  since  the  accession  of  His  Majesty  to  the 
thrones  of  France  and  Navarre.  Last  night  I  suc- 
ceeded, but  after  so  much  trouble,  that  Madame 
Colleville  asked  me  what  was  the  matter  and  why 
I  was  so  worried." 

DUTOCQ. 
**  Do  you  think  any  one  has  time  to  occupy  himself 
with  your  anagrams,  when  the  worthy  Monsieur  de 
la  Billardi^re  has  just  died?" — • 

COLLEVILLE. 
"That  is  one  of  Bixiou's  speeches!    I  have  just 
come  from  Monsieur  de  la  Biilardiere's  house;  he 
was  then  alive,  but  his  death  was  expected  at  any 

moment — (Codard,  perceiving  the  hoax,  is  annoyed  and  goes  to  his 

offlce) — Gentlemen,  you  will  never  guess  the  events 
which  are  revealed  by  the  anagram  of  this  sacra- 
mental   phrase — (he  shows  a  paper  and  reads  aloud) — CharlCS 

Dix,  par  la  grace  de  Dieu,  rot  de  France  et  de  Navarre. ' ' 

GODARD — returning. 

"Tell  us  at  once,  and  do  not  tantalize  these 
gentlemen." 

COLLEVILLE — In  a  triumphant  manner  unrolling  the  bidden  part  of  his 
sheet  of  paper. 

A  H.  V.  il  cedera, 
De  S.  C.  I.  d.  partira. 
En  nauf  errera. 
Deccde  d  Gorix. 


172  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"Every  letter  is  there — (he  then  repeats  it) — A  Henri 
Cinq  il  cedera — (sa  couronne) — (to  Henry  V.  he  will 
give  up — his  crown);  de  Saint-Cloud  partira  (from 
Saint-Cloud  he  will  depart);  en  nauf  (in  shipwreck, 
in  a  skiff,  war-ship,  sloop  of  war,  corvette,  anything 
you  wish,  for  it  is  an  old  French  word)  errera 
(he  will  wander — )'* 

DUTOCQ. 

*'  What  a  tissue  of  absurdities!  How  would  you 
like  the  king  to  cede  the  crown  to  Henry  V.,  who, 
according  to  your  hypothesis,  would  be  his  grandson, 
when  the  dauphin  is  living?  Thus  you  prophesy 
the  death  of  the  dauphin." 

BIXIOU. 
"  What  is  Gorix?  the  name  of  a  cat?" 

COLLEVILLE — provoked. 

"It  is  the  lapidarial  abbreviation  of  the  name  of 
a  town,  my  dear  friend;  I  found  it  in  Malte-Brun: 
Goritz  is  in  Latin  Gorixia  and  it  is  situated  in 
Bohemia  or  in  Hungary,  or  perhaps  in  Austria — ** 

BIXIOU. 
"  Tyrol,  the  Basque  provinces,  or  South  America. 
You  should  set  it  to  music   and  play  it  on  the 
clarionet." 

GODARD— shrugging:  his  shoulders  and  departing:. 

*What  nonsense!" 

COLLEVILLE. 
"Nonsense,  nonsense!    I  truly  wish  that  you 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  173 

would    take  the  trouble  to  study  fatalism,  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Emperor  Napoleon." 

GODARD — offended  at  Colleville's  tone. 

"Monsieur  Colleville,  Bonaparte  may  be  called 
Emperor  by  historians,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to 
recognize  him  as  such  in  the  government  offices." 

BIXIOU — smiling. 

*'  Look  for  an  anagram  in  this,  my  dear  friend! 
Hold!  in  the  matter  of  anagrams  I  like  your  wife's 
better,  because  it  is  easier  to  make. — (in  a  low  voice) — 
Flavie  should  have — in  her  leisure  moments — pro- 
cured the  position  of  chief  of  the  office  for  you  if 
only  to  preserve  you  from  the  nonsense  of  a 
Godard!"— 

DUTOCQ — coming  to  Godard's  rescue. 

"  If  there  were  no  stupidities  you  would  lose  your 
place,  for  you  prophesy  events  which  would  be 
unpleasant  to  the  king;  all  good  royalists  should 
presume  that  he  has  had  enough  trouble,  having 
been  twice  banished  from  his  country." 

COLLEVILLE. 
"  If  I  should  be  deprived  of  my  place,  Francois 
Keller  will  give  your  minister  a  good  shaking-up. 
(Deep  silence.)  I  tell  you,  Mastcr  Dutocq,  that  all  known 
anagrams  have  been  fulfilled.  Listen,  you!  Well,  you 
do  not  marry,  for  in  your  name  is  the  word  coqui" 

BIXIOU. 

"  D.  t.  stands  then  for  de-testable.** 


174  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

DUTOCQ — without  appearing:  angry. 

"  I  much  prefer  that  this  word  should  remain  only 
in  my  name." 

PAULMIER — whlsperine  to  Desroys. 

*' A  hoax,  Monsieur  Colleville." 

DUTOCQ — to  Colleville. 

"  Have  you  made  the  anagram  of  Xavier  Rabour- 
din,  chefde  bureau?** 

COLLEVILLE. 
*•  Zounds!" 

BIXIOU — mending  his 

"What  did  you  find?" 

COLLEVILLE. 

**  It  is  as  follows:  D'abord  reva  bureaux,  E-u — do 
you  catch  the  meaning? — ET  IL  EUT  !  E-u  fin  riche; 
which  means  that  after  first  belonging  to  the 
administration,  he  will  remain  there  so  that  he  can 
make  his  fortune  in  other  directions.  (Repeating.) 
D*abord  reva  bureaux,  E-u  fin  riche.** 

DUTOCQ. 
**  That  is  at  least  singular." 

BIXIOU. 
"  And  Isidore  Baudqyer?  " 

COLLEVILLE — mysteriously. 

"I  do  not  wish  to  tell  that  to  anyone  but 
Thuillier." 

BIXIOU. 
"  Bet  me  a  breakfast  that  I  can  tell  it  to  you!" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I75 

COLLEVILLE. 
"  I  will  pay  for  it  if  you  find  out. " 

BIXIOU. 

**  You  will  treat  me  then,  but  do  not  regret  it;  two 
geniuses  like  you  and  me  can  always  amuse  ourselves 
in  each  other's  company! — Isidore  Baudqyer  makes 
Ris  d'abqyeur  d'oie  I " 

COLLEVILLE — struck  with  astonishment 

"You  have  stolen  it  from  me!" 

BIXIOU — ceremoniously. 

"Monsieur  de  Colleville,  do  me  the  honor  of 
believing  that  I  have  a  sufficient  supply  of  nonsense 
to  prevent  me  from  stealing  that  of  my  neighbor." 

BAUDOYER — entering,  a  bundle  of  papers  In  his  hand. 

"  Gentlemen,  1  pray  you,  speak  a  little  louder; 
you  place  the  office  in  very  good  repute  before  the 
administration.  The  worthy  Monsieur  Clergeot, 
who  did  me  the  honor  of  coming  in  to  ask  me  a 
question,  heard  your  conversation." — (He  passed  by  Mon- 
sieur Godard's  desk.) 

BIXIOU — in  a  whisper. 

"  The  growler  is  very  gentle  this  morning,  we  are 
about  to  have  a  change  of  weather." 

DUTOCQ — In  a  low  voice  to  Bixlou. 

"  1  have  something  to  tell  you." 

BIXIOU — touching  Dutocq's  vest 

"  You  wear  a  pretty  vest  which  has  doubtless  cost 
you  next  to  nothing.     Is  that  the  secret?" 


1/6  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

DUTOCQ. 
"What  did  you  say,  almost  nothing?  I  never 
paid  such  a  high  price  for  anything.  That  is  worth 
six  francs  a  yard  at  the  large  store  in  Rue  de  la 
Paix — a  beautiful  heavy  material,  which  is  very 
suitable  for  deep  mourning." 

BIXIOU. 
"You  are  a  judge  of  engravings,  but  you  are 
ignorant  of  the  laws  of  etiquette.  One  cannot  be 
universally  talented.  Silk  is  not  admissible  in  deep 
mourning.  For  this  reason  1  wear  wool  only.  Mon- 
sieur Rabourdin,  Monsieur  Clergeot,  and  the  minis- 
ter, all  wear  woolen  clothing;  every  one  in  the 
Faubourg  Saint-Germain  wears  wool.  Minard  is 
the  only  one  who  does  not  wear  wool;  he  is  afraid 
of  being  mistaken  for  a  sheep,  called  laniger  in  bucolic 
Latin;  under  this  pretext  he  dispenses  with  wearing 
mourning  for  Louis  XVIII.,  that  great  law-maker, 
author  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  and  a  man  of  ability,  a 
king  who  will  always  hold  his  place  in  history,  as 
he  has  held  it  everywhere,  for  do  you  know  the 
greatest  characteristic  of  his  life?  No.  Very  well, 
on  his  second  return,  when  receiving  all  the  allied 
sovereigns,  he  took  the  lead  in  going  to  dinner." 

PAULMIER — looWne  at  Dutocq. 

**  I  do  not  understand." 

DUTOCQ — lookine  At  Paulmlef 

"Neither  do  I." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I77 

BIXIOU. 
**  You  do  not  understand?  Ah,  well!  He  did  not 
consider  himself  at  home.  He  was  high-minded, 
great  and  epigrammatic.  The  sovereigns  understood 
it  no  better  than  you  do,  even  when  they  put  their 
heads  together  to  try  to  comprehend  it;  it  is  true 
that   they   were  almost    all    strangers." — (Baudoyer. 

during  this  conversation,  was  In  the  corner  of  the  fireplace  in  the  office  of  bis 
deputy-chief  and  they  both  spoke  in  a  low  voice.) 

BAUDOYER. 

"Yes,  the  worthy  man  is  now  dying.  The  two 
ministers  are  there  to  watch  his  last  moments;  my 
father-in-law  has  just  been  told  of  the  event.  If  you 
would  render  me  a  signal  service  you  may  take  a 
cab  and  inform  Madame  Baudoyer,  for  Monsieur 
Saillard  cannot  leave  his  desk,  and  I,  I  dare  not 
leave  the  office  alone.  Place  yourself  at  her  ser- 
vice; I  think  she  has  her  own  views  and  might  now 
wish  to  take  some  action  in  the  matter." — (Th«  two 

functionaries  go  out  together.) 

GODARD. 

*'  Monsieur  Bixiou,  I  am  about  to  leave  the  office 
for  the  day;  take  my  place." 

BAUDOYER — to  Bixiou.  with  a  kindly  manner. 

"You  would  consult  me  should  there  be  occa- 
sion." 

BIXIOU. 
"  The  truth  is.  La  Billardi^re  is  dead." 

DUTOCQ whispering  in  Bixiou's  ear. 

"  Come  outside  with   me." — (BIxIou  and  Dutocq  step  inte 
the  corridor  and  gaze  ominously  at  each  other.) 
12 


178  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

DUTOCQ — whispering  In  Blxlou's  ear. 

*'  Listen.  Now  is  the  time  to  talk  together  about 
our  promotion.  What  would  you  say  if  you  should 
become  chief  assistant  and  I  head-clerk?" 

BIXIOU — shrugging  his  shoulders. 

"Come,  no  nonsense." 

DUTOCQ. 
"  If  Baudoyer  should  be  nominated,  Rabourdin 
would  not  remain;  he  would  send  in  his  resignation. 
Between  ourselves,  Baudoyer  is  so  incapable,  that 
if  Du  Bruel  and  you  do  not  help  him  he  will  be  dis- 
missed in  two  months.  If  my  calculations  are  cor- 
rect we  will  have  among  us  three  vacant  places." 

BIXIOU. 

**  Three  places  right  under  our  noses,  which  will 
be  given  to  pot-bellies  and  to  lackeys,  to  spies, 
to  men  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Jesuits,  to  Colle- 
ville,  whose  wife  has  at  last  played  the  r61e  which 
all  pretty  women  end  by  playing — that  of  piety — " 

DUTOCQ. 
**As  to  you,  my  friend,  if  you  wish  for  once  in 
your  life  to  employ  your  mind  logically — (he  stopped  as 

though  to  study  in  Bixiou's  face  the  effect  of  his  speech.) — let   US   play 

our  cards  above  board." 

BIXIOU calmly. 

**  Let  us  see  your  play!" 

DUTOCQ. 
"  As  for  me,  I  do  not  wish  any  other  position  than 
that  of  deputy-chief.     I  know  myself;  I  know  that 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I79 

I  have  not,  like  you,  the  means  of  becoming  chief. 
Du  Bruel  may  become  director,  you  may  be  his 
chief  clerk;  he  may  leave  you  his  place  when  he 
shall  have  laid  up  his  hoard,  and  I,  I  shall  slide  easily 
through  under  your  protection,  until  I  am  retired." 

BIXIOU. 
"How  shrewd!  But  by  what  means  do  you 
expect  to  succeed  in  accomplishing  an  undertaking 
where  it  will  be  necessary  to  force  the  hand  of  the 
minister,  and  to  eject  a  man  of  talent?  Between 
ourselves,  Rabourdin  is  the  only  competent  man  in 
the  division,  and  perhaps  in  the  ministry.  But 
there  is  talk  of  putting  in  his  place  that  square  of 
foolishness,  that  cube  of  silliness,  la  Place-Bau- 
dqyer!" 

DUTOCQ with  an  Important  air. 

**  My  friend,  I  can  arouse  all  the  officials  against 
Rabourdin!  You  know  how  much  Fleury  cares  for 
him?    Very  well,  Fleury  will  despise  him." 

BIXIOU. 
"  To  be  despised  by  Fleury!" 

DUTOCQ. 
"No  one  will  remain  true  to  Rabourdin;  the  clerks 
en  masse  will  bring  their  grievances  to  the  minister, 
and  not  only  in  our  division  but  in  Clergeot's 
division,  Bois-Levant's  division,  and  that  of  other 
ministries." 

BIXIOU. 
"  Forward,  cavalry,  infantry,  artillery  and  sailors 


l80  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

of  the  guard!    You  rave,  my  boy!    And  I,  what 
part  am  I  to  play  in  this?" 

DUTOCQ. 
'Make  a  biting  caricature,  a  drawing  of  a  man 
being  killed!" 

BIXIOU. 
"Willyoupay  for  it?" 

DUTOCQ. 
"A  hundred  francs." 

BIXIOU — to  himself. 

"There  is  something — " 

DUTOCQ contlnuine. 

"You  must  represent  Rabourdin  dressed  as  a 
butcher,  but  make  the  likeness  to  him  striking;  hunt 
for  analogies  between  an  office  and  a  kitchen,  place 
a  skewer  in  his  hand,  draw  portraits  of  the  principal 
clerks  of  the  ministry  as  fowls  shut  up  in  an  im- 
mense cage  over  which  must  be  written:  Civil 
Service  Executions,  and  make  him  in  the  act  of  cutting 
their  throats  one  by  one.  You  can  have  geese, 
ducks  with  human  heads,  vague  likenesses,  you 
understand!  Rabourdin  will  be  represented  holding 
a  fowl  in  his  hand — Baudoyer,  for  example,  made 
to  resemble  a  turkey — " 

BIXIOU. 
**  Ris  d'ahqyeur  d'oie  I — (he  looks  lone  at  Dutocq.) — Did 
you  discover  that,  you?" 

DUTOCQ. 
"Yes,  1,  myself." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  l8l 

BIXIOU — speaking  to  himself. 

*'  Do  these  violent  feelings  lead  to  the  same  results 
as  talent? — (toDutocq). — My  dear  fellow,  I  will  do  it. — 

(Dutocq  allowing  an  exclamation  of  joy  to  escape  him.) When — (stop) 

— I  know  what  I  can  count  on;  for  if  you  should 
not  succeed  I  would  lose  my  place,  and  I  must  make 
a  living.  You  are  a  singularly  good  fellow,  my  dear 
colleague!" 

DUTOCQ. 
"Very  well.    Do  not  make  the  lithograph  until 
the  success  of  the  undertaking  is  clear  to  you.'* 

BIXIOU. 
**  Why  do  you  not  tell  me  everything  at  once?'* 

DUTOCQ. 
*'  1  must  first  feel  the  pulse  of  the  office;  we  will 
speak  of  that  anon." — (He departs.) 

BIXIOU — alone  in  the  corridor. 

*•  This  fried  skate,  for  he  bears  a  greater  resem- 
blance to  a  fish  than  to  a  bird;  this  Dutocq  has  a  good 
idea,  then;  I  do  not  know  whence  he  has  taken  it.  If 
La  Place- Baudqyer  succeed  to  La  Billardi^re,  it  would 
be  droll,  more  than  droll;  in  that  event  we  would 
gain  much! — (He  re-enters  the  ofsce.) — Gentlemen,  there 
will  be  remarkable  changes!  Papa  la  Billardi^re  is 
really  dead.  No  joking!  word  of  honor!  See,  there 
is  Godard  off  on  an  errand  for  our  worthy  chief, 
Baudoyer,  presumed   successor  of   the  defunct — 

(Mlnard,  Desroys,  and  CotlevDle  raise  their  heads  In  astonishment,  each  on* 
lays  down  his  pen,  Colleville  blows  his  nose.) — We   are   all    tO    bC 

promoted!    Colleville  will  at  least  be  chief  assistant. 


1 82  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Minard  will  perhaps  be  head-clerk,  and  why  should 
it  not  be  so?  he  is  as  stupid  as  I.  Eh!  Minard,  if 
you  should  get  two  thousand  five  hundred,  your 
little  wife  would  be  more  than  pleased,  and  you 
could  then  buy  yourself  boots!" 

COLLEVILLE. 
**  But  you  are  not  yet  in  possession  of  these  two 
thousand  five  hundred." 

BIXIOU. 
"  Monsieur  Dutocq  gets  that  much  in  Rabourdin's 
office;  why  should  I  not  have  as  much  this  year? 
Monsieur  Baudoyer  has  had  that  amount." 

COLLEVILLE. 
**  Through  Monsieur  Saillard's  influence;  no  head- 
clerk  in  Clergeot's  division  receives  a  like  amount." 

PAULMIER. 
"  For  example,  has  not  Monsieur  Cochin  three 
thousand?  He  succeeded  Monsieur  Vavasseur,  who 
was  ten  years  under  the  Empire  at  four  thousand. 
He  was  reduced  to  three  thousand  when  the  King 
.  returned,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  received  only 
two  thousand  five  hundred.  But  Monsieur  Cochin, 
through  the  influence  of  his  brother,  had  his  salary 
increased  to  three  thousand." 

COLLEVILLE. 
"Monsieur  Cochin  signs  his  name,  E.  L.'L.  E. 
Cochin;  his  name  is  Emile-Louis-Lucien-Emmanuel, 
which,  made  into  »n  anagram,  gives  COCHENILLE. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  183 

By  the  bye,  he  is  interested  in  a  druggist's  estab- 
lishment, Rue  des  Lombards,  Maison  Matifat,  which 
made  a  fortune  by  successful  speculations  in  that 
colonial  product." 

BIXIOU. 
"  Poor  man,  he  has  fooled  a  year  with  Florine!" 

COLLEVILLE. 
*'  Sometimes  Cochin  is  present  at  our  evenings  at 
home,  for  he  is  a  very  expert  performer  on  his 

violin. (To  Bixlou,  who  had  not  as  yet  begun  his  work) YoU  OUght 

to  come  to  our  house  to  listen  to  a  concert  next 
Tuesday.  A  quintette  by  Reicha  will  be  per- 
formed." 

BIXIOU. 
**  Thank  you,  I  prefer  to  read  the  score." 

COLLEVILLE. 

"  Are  you  trying  to  joke  by  speaking  thus?    For 
an  artist  of  your  ability  ought  to  love  music." 

BIXIOU. 
"  I  will  go,  but  for  madame's  sake  alone." 

BAUDOYER — retumlne. 

**  Monsieur  Chazelle  has  not  yet  come;  present 
my  compliments  to  him,  gentlemen." 

BIXIOU — who  put  a  hat  In  Chazelle's  place  when  he  beard  Baudoyer 
approach. 

"  Pardon,  sir,  he  has  gone  to  Rabourdin's  house 
to  ask  a  question  for  you." 

CHAZELLE — entering,  his  hat  on  his  head,  without  perceiving  Baudoyer. 

"  Father   la  Billardidre  is  done   for,  gentlemen! 


1 84  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Rabourdin  is  chief  of  division,  maitre  des  requites! 
He  has  not  stolen  his  promotion,  that  is  sure — '* 

BAUDOYER — to  Chazelle. 

"You  found  that  appointment  in  your  second  hat, 

sir,    is    it    not    so  ? — (He  sh«ws  him  the  hat  which  is  in  his  piace.) — • 

This  is  the  third  time  within  the  month  that  you 
have  arrived  after  nine  o'ciocl<;  if  you  continue  to  be 
so  late,  you  will  make  your  way,  but  know  in  what 
manner. — (To  bixiou.  who  is  reading  the  paper.)— My  dear  Mon- 
sieur Bixiou,  do  leave  the  paper  to  these  gentlemen 
who  are  going  to  breakfast,  and  lay  hold  of  the 
business  of  the  day.  I  do  not  know  what  Monsieur 
Rabourdin  wants  with  Gabriel;  he  keeps  him,  I 
believe,  for  his  especial   use;   I  have   rung  three 

times. ' ' — (Baudoyer  and  Bixiou  retire  into  the  inner  office.) 
CHAZELLE. 

"Damned  luck." 

PAULMIER — delightine  to  annoy  Chaielle. 

"Were  you  not  told  downstairs  that  he  was  up 
here?  Besides,  could  you  not  have  looked  around  as 
you  entered,  and  so  have  seen  the  hat  at  your  place, 
and  the  elephant — " 

COLLEVILLE — laughing 

"In  the  menagerie!" 

PAULMIER. 

"  It  is  large  enough  to  be  seen." 

CHAZELLE — in  despair. 

"Zounds!  in  return  for  the  four  francs  seventy- 
five  centimes  which  the  government  pays  us  for  a 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  185 

day's  labor,  I  do  not  see  that  we  ought  to  be 
slaves." 

FLEURY— entering. 

"  Down  with  Baudoyer,  hurrah  for  Rabourdin! 
That  is  the  sentiment  of  the  division.** 

CH  AZ  E  LLE — exasperated. 

**  Baudoyer  can  dismiss  me  if  he  likes;  I  shall  not 
be  greatly  grieved.  In  Paris  there  are  a  thousand 
ways  of  gaining  five  francs  a  day!  One  can  earn 
that  much  at  the  Palais  de  Justice,  copying  briefs 
for  lawyers.* 

PAULMIER continuing  to  tease  Chazelle. 

"You  may  say  that,  but  a  position  is  a  position,  and 
the  plucky  Colleville,  who  works  like  a  convict 
outside  of  this  office,  and  who  could  earn,  if  he  were 
to  lose  his  position  here,  more  than  his  present 
salary  by  simply  teaching  music,  even  he  prefers  to 
keep  his  position.  The  deuce!  One  does  not  readily 
abandon  one's  expectations.'* 

CHAZELLE — continuing  his  philippic. 

*  He  may  have  expectations,  but  they  are  not  for 
me!  We  have  no  chances  of  promotion?  Zounds! 
Time  was  when  there  was  no  career  more  enticing 
than  the  administrative.  So  many  men  were  in 
the  army,  that  there  were  not  enough  for  the 
government  work.  The  toothless,  those  wounded  in 
the  hand,  in  the  foot,  or  in  bad  health  like  Paulmier, 
and  those  who  were  near-sighted  could  obtain  rapid 


1 86  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

promotion.  Families  whose  children  thronged  the 
colleges  became  fascinated  with  the  brilliant  career 
of  a  young  man  in  spectacles,  clad  in  a  blue  coat, 
whose  buttonhole  bouquet  was  brightened  by  a  red 
ribbon,  and  who  handled  a  million  francs  a  month, 
by  only  staying  a  few  hours  in  some  government 
ofifice,  superintending  some  work,  arriving  there  late 
and  leaving  early,  having,  like  Lord  Byron,  hours  of 
leisure,  and  writing  novels,  promenading  in  the 
Tuileries,  with  a  rather  consequential  air,  being  seen 
everywhere,  at  the  theatre,  at  the  ball,  admitted  to 
the  best  society,  dispensing  his  emoluments,  thus 
returning  to  France  everything  that  France  had 
given  him,  returning  even  his  services.  In  fact 
clerks  were  then,  like  Thuillier,  cajoled  by  pretty 
women;  they  seemed  to  have  ability,  they  were  not 
overworked  at  the  office.  Empresses,  queens, 
princesses,  the  wives  of  marshals  in  that  happy 
time,  had  their  caprices.  All  those  fine  ladies  had 
the  ambition  of  noble  souls;  they  loved  to  give  their 
protection.  Thus  one  might  fill  a  high  position  for 
twenty-five  years;  one  might  be  auditor  to  the 
council  of  state,  or  maitre  des  requites,  and  bring  in 
his  reports  to  the  Emperor  while  amusing  himself 
with  his  august  family.  Pleasure  and  work  went  on 
together.  Everything  was  done  quickly.  But  now, 
since  the  Chamber  has  insisted  on  a  minute  account 
of  the  expenses,  and  chapters  marked:  The  Staff! 
we  are  of  less  account  than  soldiers.  The  lowest 
places  are  subject  to  a  thousand  chances,  for  there 
are  a  thousand  sovereigns." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 87 

BIXIOU — re-entering. 

"Chazelle  is  crazy.  Where  does  he  find  a  thousand 
sovereigns? — unless  perchance  in  his  pocket?" — 

CHAZELLE. 

•Let  us  count!  There  are  four  hundred  at  the 
end  of  Pont  de  la  Concorde — so  called  because  it 
leads  to  the  scene  of  perpetual  discord  between  the 
Right  and  Left  of  the  Chamber;  three  hundred  more 
at  the  end  of  Rue  deTournon.  The  court,  which  ought 
to  count  for  three  hundred,  is  then  obliged  to  have 
seven  hundred  times  more  power  than  the  Emperor 
in  order  to  appoint  one  of  its  proteges  to  any  govern- 
ment position  whatsoever!" 

FLEURY. 
'  All  this  means,  that  in  a  country  where  three 
powers  rule,  you  may  bet  a  thousand  to  one  that  a 
clerk  who  relies  solely  upon  his  own  merits  will 
never  be  promoted." 

BIXIOU — regardine  Chazelle  and  Fleury  by  turns. 

**  Ah!  my  boys,  you  have  yet  to  learn  that  in  this 
age  the  worst  state  in  life  is  the  state  of  belonging 
to  the  State." 

FLEURY. 

**  Because  of  the  constitutional  government." 

COLLEVILLE. 

"Gentlemen! — Do  not  talk  politics." 

BIXIOU. 

**  Fleury  is  right:  serving  the  State  to-day  is  not 
like  serving  the  Prince,  who  knows  when  to  punish 


1 88  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

and  when  to  reward!  To-day,  the  State  is  every 
one.  Now,  everybody  is  not  concerned  in  anybody. 
To  serve  every  one  is  to  serve  no  one.  No  one  is 
interested  in  any  one.  A  clerk  lives  between  two 
negations.  The  world  has  no  pity,  has  no  respect, 
has  no  heart,  no  brains;  it  is  an  egotist,  it  forgets 
to-morrow  the  services  rendered  to  it  yesterday. 
In  vain  can  you  search  within  yourselves  to  find, 
like  Monsieur  Baudoyer,  that  from  the  tenderest 
infancy  you  had  a  talent  for  administration,  that 
you  are  a  Chateaubriand  as  regards  reports,  a  Bos- 
suet  as  regards  circulars,  a  Canalis  as  regards  me- 
morials, or  the  genius  of  dispatches.  There  is 
a  law  of  fatality  against  administrative  genius, — the 
law  of  promotion  through  its  means.  This  fatal 
method  is  based  on  the  statistics  of  promotion  and 
the  statistics  of  mortality  combined.  It  is  certain 
that  on  entering  whatever  administration  you  choose, 
at  eighteen  years  of  age,  you  will  have  to  wait  until 
you  are  thirty  years  old  before  your  salary  is  raised 
to  eighteen  hundred  francs,  while  to  obtain  six  thou- 
sand at  fifty,  Colleville's  life  proves  to  us  that  the 
ability  of  a  woman,  the  support  of  several  Peers  of 
France,  of  several  influential  deputies,  are  of  no 
effect.  There  is  then  no  free  and  independent 
career  in  which,  after  twelve  years'  labor,  a  young 
man  having  gone  through  his  school-course,  having 
been  vaccinated,  freed  from  military  duty  and 
possessing  all  his  faculties — without  being  a  tran- 
scendent genius — there  is  no  career  in  which  he 
may  not  have  amassed  a  capital  of  forty -five  thousand 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  1 89 

francs  in  centimes,  representing  a  permanent  in- 
come equal  to  our  salaries,  essentially  precarious, 
for  tiiey  are  not  even  for  life.  In  that  time  a  grocer 
ought  to  make  enough  to  ensure  him  ten  thousand 
francs  income,  to  make  an  assignment,  or  to  preside 
over  the  Tribunal  of  Commerce.  A  painter  can  color 
over  half  a  mile  of  canvas,  and  be  decorated  with 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  or  pose  as  a  neglected  genius. 
A  man  of  letters  can  become  professor  of  some  one 
subject;  a  journalist  earn  a  hundred  francs  a  thou- 
sand lines,  by  writing  feuilletons,  or  find  himself  in 
Sainte-Pelagie  for  having  written  a  brilliant  pam- 
phlet which  displeased  the  Jesuits,  which  is  of  great 
benefit  to  him  and  will  make  him  a  politician  at  once. 
Even  a  lazy  man,  who  has  accomplished  nothing — for 
some  lazy  people  do  really  something — has  debts 
and  a  widow  who  pays  them.  A  priest  has  had 
time  to  become  a  bishop  in  partibus.  A  vaudevillist 
becomes  owner,  although  he  may  never  write, 
like  Du  Bruel,  entire  plays.  A  sober  and  intelligent 
lad  who  begins  to  discount  with  a  very  small  capital, 
may  like  Mademoiselle  Thuillier,  then  buy  a  share 
in  a  broker's  business.  Let  us  look  lower  down  in 
the  scale!  a  petty  clerk  will  become  notary,  a  rag- 
dealer  will  have  an  income  of  three  thousand  francs, 
the  poorest  workmen  have  been  able  to  become 
manufacturers;  while  in  the  rotatory  movement  of 
this  present  civilization  which  mistakes  perpetual 
division  for  progress,  a  man  like  Chazelle  must  dine 
at  twenty -two  sous  a  meal! — beat  down  his  tailor 
and  his  boot-maker! — has  debts! — is  nothing!  and 


I  go  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

has  become  idiotic! — Come,  gentlemen,  a  fine  con- 
dition! Heh!  Let  us  send  in  our  resignations? — 
Fleury,  Chazelle,  fling  yourselves  into  other  employ- 
ments, and  in  those  pursuits  become  great  men! — " 

CHAZELLE — calmed  down  by  Bixlou's  words. 
"  Thank  you." — (A  general  laugh.) 

BIXIOU. 
"  You  are  wrong;  in  your  place  I  should  try  to 
get  ahead  of  the  secretary-general.** 

CHAZELLE — uneasily. 

"  And  what  does  he  wish  to  say  to  me?*' 

BIXIOU. 
"  Odry  would  tell  you,  Chazelle,  with  more  polite- 
ness than  des  Lupeaulx  would,  that  the  only  place 
open  for  you  is  the  Place  de  la  Concorde." 

PAULMIER — holding  fast  to  the  stove-pipe. 

**  Zounds!    Baudoyer  will  show  you  no  mercy; 
let  us  be  offl'* 

FLEURY. 
"Another  example  of  Baudoyer*s  spite!  Ah! 
what  a  queer  fellow  he  is!  Speak  to  me  of  Mon- 
sieur Rabourdin,  now  he  is  a  man.  He  placed 
work  on  my  table  for  me,  which  would  take  three 
days  to  accomplish  in  this  office. — Ah!  well,  he 
expects  that  it  will  be  done  by  four  o'clock  this 
evening.  But  he  is  not  always  at  my  heels  to 
prevent  me  from  talking  to  my  friends.'* 

BAUDOYER — appearing. 

"  Gentlemen,  you  will  admit  that  if  one  has  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I9I 

right  to  blame  the  Chamber  or  the  progress  of  the 
administration,  this  right  must  be  elsewhere  than  in 

the    offices! (He  addressed  himself  to  Fleury.) — Why  are   yOU 

here,  sir?" 

FLEURY — Insolently, 

"  To  tell  these  gentlemen  that  there  are  some 
changes  taking  place!  The  secretary -general  has 
sent  for  Du  Bruel  and  for  Dutocq  also!  Every  one 
is  asking  who  will  be  appointed." 

BAUDOYER — re-entering. 

**  Here,  sir,  it  is  not  your  business;  return  to  your 
own  office,  and  do  not  disturb  the  routine  of  mine." 

FLEURY in  the  doorway. 

"  It  would  be  a  great  injustice  if  Rabourdin  should 
gobble  it  up!  Faith!  I  would  leave  the  ministry.— 
(Here-entered.) — Have  you  found  your  anagram,  Papa 
Colleville?" 

COLLEVILLE. 

"Yes,  here  it  is." 

FLEURY — leaning  over  Collevllle's  desk. 

**  Famous!  famous!  Behold,  what  will  surely  happen 
if  the  government  continues  its  method  of  hypocrisy. 

——(He  made  a  sign  to  the  clerks  that  Baudoyer  was  listening.) If   thC 

government  would  frankly  state  its  intention,  with- 
out concealing  anything,  the  Liberals  would  then 
see  what  was  to  be  done.  A  government  that  turns 
against  itself,  its  best  friends,  and  men  like  those 
of  the  '  Dibats,'  like  Chateaubriand  and  Royer* 
Collard!  is  only  to  be  pitied!" 


192  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

COLLEVILLE — after  having  consulted  his  colleag^ues. 

"  Come,  Fleury,  you  are  a  good  fellow;  but  do 
not  speak  about  politics  here,  you  do  not  know 
what  wrong  you  do  us." 

FLEURY— dryly. 

**  Adieu,  gentlemen,  I  must  hurry  with  my  work. 

—(He  returns  and  speaks  to  Bixiou  In  a  low  voice.) It    is    Said    that 

Madame  Colieville  is  connected  with  the  Society  of 
the  Jesuits." 

BIXIOU. 
"Where?" 

FLEURY laughlne  aloud. 

*'  You  are  too  clever  to  be  caught." 

COLLEVILLE — ^anxiously. 

"What  are  you  saying?" 

FLEURY. 
"Last  night  our  theatre  made  three  thousand 
francs  profit  by  the  new  play,  although   it  is  its 
fortieth  representation.    You  ought  to  see  it;  the 
setting  is  superb." 


At  this  moment  des  Lupeaulx  was  receiving  Du 
Bruel  in  the  secretary's  office,  where  shortly  after 
Dutocq  joined  them.  Des  Lupeaulx  had  learned  of 
the  death  of  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re,  through  his 
valet,  and  wished  to  please  the  two  ministers  by 
publishing,  that  very  evening,  an  obituary  notice. 

"Good-day,  my  dear  Du  Bruel,"  said  the  semi- 
minister  to  the  head-clerk,  as  he  entered,  at  the 
same  time  leaving  him  standing.  "  Do  you  know 
the  news?  La  Billardi^re  is  dead;  the  two  ministers 
were  present  when  he  received  the  Last  Sacrament. 
The  good  man  strongly  recommended  Rabourdin, 
saying  that  he  would  have  died  very  unhappy,  had 
he  not  known  that  the  man  who  had  so  often  acted 
as  his  substitute  would  be  his  successor.  It  seems 
that  in  the  agony  of  death  one  confesses  every- 
thing.— The  minister  agreed  the  more  readily,  be- 
cause his  intention,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Council, 
was  to  reward  Monsieur  Rabourdin  for  his  numer- 
ous services — Du  Bruel  nods — the  council  of  state 
needs  his  experience.  It  is  said  that  Monsieur  de 
la  Billardi^re  will  leave  the  division  of  his  late  father, 
and  will  pass  to  the  Commission  of  Seals;  that  is 
the  same  as  though  the  king  were  to  make  him  a 
present  of  a  hundred  thousand  francs,  the  position 
is  like  a  notary's  position  and  can  be  sold.  This 
news  will  delight  your  division,  for  one  can  well 
15  C193) 


194  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

believe  that  Benjamin  will  be  placed  there.  Du 
Bruel,  we  must  get  ten  or  a  dozen  lines  together 
about  this  worthy  man  and  put  it  among  the  Paris 
items.  Their  Excellencies  will  glance  over  them. — 
He  reads  the  paper. — Do  you  know  the  particulars 
of  the  life  of  Papa  la  Billardidre?" 

Du  Bruel  made  a  gesture  which  implied  ignorance 
on  his  part. 

"No?"  replied  des  Lupeaulx.  "Oh,  well!  he 
was  connected  with  the  affairs  of  La  Vendee,  and 
he  was  one  of  the  confidants  of  the  late  king.  Like 
Comte  de  Fontaine,  he  never  wished  to  make  any 
terms  with  the  First  Consul.  He  had  a  little  of  the 
Chouan  in  him.  He  was  born  in  Brittany,  of  a 
parliamentary  family  of  so  late  a  date  that  its  title 
of  nobility  originated  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIH. 
How  old  was  he?  Never  mind!  Arrange  it  thus: 
Loyalty  which  was  never  doubted — an  enlightened 
religion — the  poor  man  had  this  peculiarity,  that  he 
would  never  put  his  foot  inside  of  a  church; — say 
that  he  was  a  pious  subject.  Bring  in  modestly 
that  he  sang  the  song  of  Simeon  at  the  accession  of 
Charles  X.  The  Comte  d'Artois  thought  very 
highly  of  La  Billardi^re,  for  he  co-operated  unhappily 
in  the  affair  of  Quiberon  and  took  everything  on  his 
own  shoulders.  Do  you  know  that?  La  Billar- 
diSre  defended  the  King  in  a  pamphlet  in  reply  to  an 
impudent  account  of  the  Revolution  written  by  a 
journalist;  you  can  then  lay  stress  on  his  devotion. 
In  short,  weigh  well  your  words,  so  that  the  other 
journals  do  not  ridicule  us,  and  bring  me  the  article. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I95 

You  were  yesterday  at  Monsieur  Rabourdin's 
house?" 

" Yes,  Monseigneur,"  said  Du  Bruel.  "Ah  par- 
don—" 

"There  is  no  harm  in  that,"  said  des  Lupeaulx, 
laughing. 

"His  wife  is  wonderfully  beautiful,"  said  Du 
Bruel;  "thereare  not  two  such  women  in  Paris;  there 
are  others  as  intellectual  as  she,  but  none  as 
graciously  intellectual.  A  woman  may  be  more 
beautiful  than  Celestine;  but  it  is  difficult  to  find 
one  with  such  a  variety  of  beauty.  Madame 
Rabourdin  is  much  superior  to  Madame  Colleville," 
said  the  vaudevillist  in  recalling  des  Lupeaulx*  adven- 
ture. "  Flavie  owes  what  she  is  to  her  intercourse 
with  men,  while  Madame  Rabourdin  depends  upon 
herself  alone;  she  knows  everything.  You  cannot 
even  tell  a  secret  in  Latin  in  her  presence.  If  I 
had  such  a  wife,  I  should  believe  it  possible  for  me 
to  succeed  in  every  undertaking." 

"  You  have  more  mind  than  an  author  ought  to 
have,"  replied  des  Lupeaulx  with  a  conceited  air. 

Then  he  turned  around,  espied  Dutocq,  and  said 
to  him: 

"  Ah!  good-day,  Dutocq;  I  have  sent  for  you  to  ask 
you  to  lend  me  your  Charlet,  if  it  is  complete;  the 
countess  knows  nothing  of  Charlet." 

Du  Bruel  retired. 

"Why  do  you  come  when  you  are  not  called?" 
said  des  Lupeaulx  harshly  to  Dutocq  when  they 
were  alone.    "  Is  the  state  in  danger,  that  you  come 


196  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

to  me  at  ten  o'clock  when  I  am  just  going  to  break- 
fast with  His  Excellency?" 

"  Perhaps,  sir,"  said  Dutocq,  "if  I  had  had  the 
honor  of  seeing  you  this  morning,  you  would  doubt- 
less not  have  eulogized  Monsieur  Rabourdin,  after 
having  read  his  opinion  of  you."  Dutocq  opened 
his  coat,  took  a  sheet  of  paper  printed  on  the  left- 
hand  pages  and  placed  it  on  des  Lupeaulx'sdesk, 
having  marked  off  the  passage.  Then  he  bolted 
the  door,  fearing  interruption.  The  following  is  the 
paragraph  which  the  secretary-general  read  while 
Dutocq  was  closing  the  door: 

"MONSIEUR  DES  LUPEAULX.  A  government  degrades 
itself  by  openly  employing  such  a  man,  who  is  more  especially 
qualified  for  the  diplomatic  police.  He  is  fitted  to  successfully 
cope  with  political  filibusters  of  other  cabinets,  and  it  would  be 
a  pity  to  employ  him  in  the  domestic  police.  He  is  superior 
to  the  ordinary  spy,  he  understands  a  scheme,  he  would  be 
capable  of  carrying  on  successfully  an  intrigue,  and  of  skil- 
fully covering  his  retreat." 

Des  Lupeaulx  was  succinctly  analyzed  in  five  or 
six  paragraphs,  the  quintessence  of  the  biographical 
portrait  drawn  at  the  beginning  of  this  story.  As 
the  secretary-general  read  the  first  words  he  felt 
that  he  was  being  judged  by  a  man  stronger  than 
himself;  but  he  wished  to  reserve  the  right  to 
examine  into  this  memorandum  which  struck  far  and 
wide,  without  permitting  a  man  like  Dutocq  to 
suspect  his  secret  intentions.  Des  Lupeaulx  thus 
assumed  a  calm  and  serious  expression  before  the  spy. 
The  secretary-general,  like  lawyers,  magistrates. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I97 

diplomats  and  all  those  who  by  profession  are 
obliged  to  pry  into  the  human  heart,  was  aston- 
ished at  nothing.  Accustomed  to  treachery,  to  the 
wiles  of  hatred,  and  to  snares,  he  was  able  to  receive 
a  wound  in  the  back  without  changing  the  expression 
of  his  countenance. 

"  How  did  you  get  this  article?" 

Dutocq  recounted  his  good  luck.  Des  Lupeaulx 
listened  to  it  without  making  the  least  sign  of 
approbation,  and  so  the  spy  tremblingly  ended  the 
narration  which  he  had  triumphantly  commenced. 

"  Dutocq,  you  have  placed  your  finger  between 
the  bark  and  the  tree,"  said  the  secretary-general 
dryly.  "  If  you  do  not  wish  to  make  very  powerful 
enemies,  guard  most  carefully  this  secret,  which  is  a 
work  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  known  to  me." 

Des  Lupeaulx  dismissed  Dutocq  with  one  of  those 
glances  more  expressive  than  words. 

"  Ah!  this  scoundrel  of  a  Rabourdin  is  concerned 
in  this  also!"  said  Dutocq,  alarmed  at  finding  a  rival 
in  his  chief.  "He  then  plays  the  major  while  I 
march  on  foot!     I  would  not  have  thought  it!" 

To  all  his  other  motives  of  aversion  to  Rabourdin 
was  added  the  jealousy  of  a  member  of  the  same 
profession  against  a  colleague — one  of  the  most 
powerful  ingredients  of  hatred. 

When  des  Lupeaulx  was  alone,  he  fell  into  a 
strange  meditation.  Of  what  power  was  Rabourdin 
the  instrument.  Should  he — des  Lupeaulx — make 
use  of  this  singular  document  to  ruin  him,  or  should 
he  keep  it  as  a  weapon  to  enable  him  to  succeed  with 


198  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

the  wife?  This  mystery  was  quite  obscure  to  des 
Lupeaulx,  who  glanced  with  terror  at  the  pages  of 
this  article  where  the  men  of  his  acquaintance  were 
judged  with  extraordinary  accuracy.  He  admired 
Rabourdin  at  the  same  time  that  he  felt  wounded 
to  the  quick  by  him.  Breakfast-hour  found  des 
Lupeaulx  still  reading. 

**  Monseigneur  will  wait  for  you,  if  you  do  not  go 
down,"  said  the  valet  de  chambre  to  the  minister. 

The  minister  was  in  the  habit  of  breakfasting  with 
his  wife,  his  children  and  des  Lupeaulx,  without  the 
presence  of  servants.  The  morning  meal  is  the 
only  moment  of  privacy  which  statesmen  can  snatch 
from  the  pressure  of  their  overwhelming  business. 
Yet  notwithstanding  the  ingenious  devices  they 
resort  to,  to  keep  this  hour  for  private  conversa- 
tion and  unconstrained  home  life  and  affection,  a 
great  many  important  and  unimportant  people  find 
means  of  infringing  upon  it.  Often  business  will 
come  up,  as  at  this  time,  to  interrupt  their 
happiness. 

"  I  thought  Rabourdin  was  a  man  much  superior 
to  the  ordinary  government  clerk;  and  see  how, 
ten  minutes  after  de  la  Billardi^re's  death,  he 
arranges  to  have  a  real  theatre  ticket  sent  to  me  by 
la  Bri^re.  Look,"  said  the  minister  to  des  Lupeaulx, 
in  giving  him  a  paper  which  he  was  rolling  between 
his  fingers. 

Too  noble  to  dream  of  the  disgraceful  interpreta- 
tion which  the  death  of  de  la  Billardi^re  lent  to  his 
letter,  Rabourdin  had  not  withdrawn  it  from  de  la 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  I99 

Bri^re,  after  he  had  heard  the  news  through  him. 
Des  Lupeaulx  read  as  follows: 

"  MONSEIGNEUR,  If  twenty-three  years  of  faithful  ser- 
vice merits  a  favor,  I  entreat  "Your  Excellency  to  give  me  an 
audience  to-day  if  possible;  it  concerns  an  affair  in  which  my 
honor  is  involved." 

Then  followed  the  usual  formulas  of  respect. 

**  Poor  man!"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  with  a  compas- 
sionate tone  which  confirmed  the  minister  in  his 
error,  "  we  two  are  alone,  bid  him  come.  You  have 
a  meeting  of  the  Council  after  the  Chamber,  and 
Your  Excellency  has  to  reply  to-day  to  the  Opposi- 
tion, and  so  there  is  no  other  time  when  you  can 
receive  him." 

Des  Lupeaulx  arose,  called  the  attendant,  spoke 
a  few  words  to  him,  and  then  sat  down  at  the 
table. 

**  I  have  summoned  him  to  dessert,"  he  said. 

This  minister,  like  all  ministers  of  the  Restora- 
tion, was  a  man  past  his  youth.  The  charter  granted 
by  Louis  XVIII.  had  this  defect,  that  it  tied  the  hands 
of  the  kings  by  forcing  them  to  trust  the  destinies 
of  the  country  to  quadragenarians  of  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies,  and  to  septuagenarians  of  the  Peerage, 
so  that  it  deprived  them  of  the  right  to  lay  hold  of  a 
man  of  political  talent  wherever  he  might  be  found, 
notwithstanding  his  youth  or  his  poverty-stricken 
condition.  Napollon  alone  could  employ  young  men 
whom  he  chose,  without  being  hampered  by  any 
consideration.     Now,  since  the  overthrow  of  that 


200  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

mighty  will,  energetic  action  has  deserted  those  in 
high  positions.  Inertia  which  succeeds  energy  is  a 
contrast  more  dangerous  in  France  than  any  other 
country.  As  a  general  thing,  ministers  who  have 
been  appointed  when  well  on  in  years  are  all  of 
medium  ability,  while  ministers  chosen  when  young 
have  been  an  honor  to  European  monarchies  and  to 
republics  whose  affairs  they  directed.  The  world 
still  rings  with  the  struggle  between  Pitt  and  Na- 
poleon, two  men  who  were  engaged  in  politics  at  the 
age  when  the  Henrys  of  Navarre,  the  Richelieus,  the 
Mazarins,  the  Colberts,  the  Louvois,  the  d'Oranges, 
the  Guises,  the  la  Rov^res,  the  Machiavellis,  in  fact, 
all  the  best  known  celebrated  men,  springing  from  a 
lowly  sphere  or  born  around  thrones,  commenced 
to  govern  the  State.  The  Convention — a  model  of 
energy — was,  in  a  great  part,  composed  of  young 
men;  no  sovereign  can  ever  forget  that  it  raised 
fourteen  armies  against  Europe.  Its  policy,  so  fatal 
in  the  eyes  of  those  who  were  in  favor  of  absolute 
power,  was,  nevertheless,  dictated  by  real  monarchi- 
cal principles;  because  it  conducted  itself  like  a  great 
king.  After  ten  or  twelve  years  of  parliamentary 
struggles,  after  having  studied  politics  until  worn 
out  with  the  effort,  this  minister  had  become  firmly 
supported  by  a  party  who  looked  upon  him  as  their 
man  of  business.  Happily  for  him,  he  was  nearer 
sixty  than  fifty  years  of  age;  if  he  had  still  retained 
any  youthful  vigor,  he  would  have  been  promptly 
undone.  But,  accustomed  to  thrust  things  aside,  to 
beat  a  retreat,  to  return  to  the  charge,  he  could  allow 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  201 

himself  to  be  attacked  in  turn  by  his  party,  the 
opposition,  the  court,  the  clergy,  by  confronting  them 
with  the  inertia  of  matter  at  the  same  time  soft  and 
firm;  thus  he  profited  by  his  misfortunes.  Harassed 
by  a  thousand  government  questions,  his  mind — like 
that  of  an  old  lawyer  who  has  pleaded  in  all  sorts 
of  cases — no  longer  retained  that  keenness  which 
belongs  to  solitary  minds,  neither  had  he  the 
promptitude  of  decision  of  people  early  accustomed 
to  action,  such  as  distinguishes  young  soldiers.  How 
could  it  be  otherwise?  He  had  quibbled  instead  of 
judging,  he  had  criticised  effects  without  searching 
for  their  causes;  above  all,  his  head  was  full  of  a 
thousand  reforms  such  as  a  political  party  thrusts 
upon  its  leader,  a  course  that  private  interest  brings 
to  an  orator  supposed  to  have  a  future  before  him,  a 
medley  of  schemes,  and  impracticable  counsels.  Far 
from  coming  to  his  work  fresh,  he  was  tired  out 
with  his  marches  and  counter-marches.  Afterward, 
on  attaining  a  place  at  the  height  so  eagerly  sought 
for,  he  found  that  he  was  pierced  by  a  thousand 
thorny  bushes,  that  he  had  a  thousand  conflicting 
wills  to  conciliate.  If  the  statesmen  of  the  Restora- 
tion had  been  permitted  to  carry  out  their  own  ideas, 
their  ability  would  doubtless  have  been  less  subject 
to  criticism;  but,  though  their  wishes  were  overruled, 
their  age  saved  them  by  hindering  them  from  making 
the  resistance  which  youth  opposes  to  intrigues, 
both  high  and  low,  such  as  sometimes  vanquished 
Richelieu,  and  towhich,  in  a  lower  sphere,  Rabourdin 
was  to  succumb.     After  the  anxieties  of  their  first 


202  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

troubles,  these  men — less  old  than  aged — have  to 
endure  anxieties  inseparable  from  the  ministry. 
Thus  their  eyes  become  weak  at  the  time  when 
they  should  be  as  clear-sighted  as  the  eagle;  their 
minds  are  weary  when  it  is  necessary  for  them  to 
redouble  their  energy. 

The  minister  in  whom  Rabourdin  wished  to 
confide  was  daily  accustomed  to  listen  to  men  of 
unquestionable  superiority  explain  to  him  the  most 
ingenious  theories  of  government,  applicable  or  inap- 
plicable in  regard  to  the  affairs  of  France.  These 
people,  who  had  no  idea  of  the  difficulties  of  national 
politics,  assailed  this  minister  on  his  return  from  a 
parliamentary  struggle,  or  in  a  contest  with  the 
secret  follies  of  the  court,  or  on  the  eve  of  a  combat 
with  the  public  spirit,  or  on  the  morrow  of  a  diplo- 
matic question  which  had  divided  the  Council  into 
three  parties.  Placed  in  this  situation,  a  statesman 
naturally  keeps  a  yawn  ready  for  the  first  sentence 
referring  to  the  better  regulation  of  public  affairs. 
At  such  times  there  was  no  dinner  where  the  most 
audacious  speculators,  or  shrewdest  financiers  and 
politicians  did  not — in  the  most  serious  conversation 
ij — reflect  the  opinions  of  the  Bourse  and  the  bank, 
the  diplomatic  secrets,  and  the  plans  which  treated 
of  European  affairs.  In  des  Lupeaulx,  and  his 
private  secretary,  the  minister  possessed,  moreover,  a 
petty  Council  which  digested  these  opinions,  so  that 
they  could  control  and  analyze  the  interests  which 
were  expressed  by  so  many  clever  men.  In  fact,  his 
misfortune — which  was  common  to  all  sexagenarian 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  205 

ministers — was,  tliat  he  shuflfled  with  all  difficul- 
ties; with  journalism,  which  at  this  time  it  was 
deemed  advisable  to  suppress  noiselessly,  instead  of 
fighting  openly;  with  the  question  of  finance  as  well 
as  the  labor  question;  with  the  clergy  as  well  as 
with  the  question  of  national  wealth;  with  liberalism 
as  well  as  with  the  Chamber.  The  minister,  after 
having  controlled  the  power  for  seven  years,  thought 
that  he  could  dispose  of  all  questions  in  like  manner. 
It  is  so  natural  for  one  to  endeavor  to  retain  power  by 
the  same  means  by  which  it  was  attained,  that  no 
one  dared  to  blame  a  method  invented  by  people  of 
moderate  ability  to  conciliate  minds  of  moderate 
capacity.  The  Restoration,  as  well  as  the  Polish 
Revolution,  proved  to  nations,  as  well  as  to  princes, 
what  a  man  was  worth,  and  what  happens  to  the 
country  when  the  right  man  is  wanting.  The  last 
and  greatest  fault  of  statesmen  of  the  Restoration 
was  their  honesty  during  the  struggle,  in  which  their 
adversaries  employed  all  the  resources  of  political 
trickery,  lies  and  calumnies,  and  who  let  loose  upon 
them,  through  subversive  means,  the  ignorant 
masses,  accustomed  only  to  comprehend  revolt. 

Rabourdin  acknowledged  all  that  to  himself.  But 
he  had  just  decided  to  stake  all  in  the  hopes  of 
winning  everything,  like  a  man  who,  weary  of  gam- 
bling, only  allows  himself  one  more  stake.  But 
chance  had  given  him  a  sharper  for  his  adversary, 
in  the  person  of  des  Lupeaulx.  Notwithstanding 
his  sagacity,  the  chief  of  the  office — Rabourdin — was 
wiser  h^  the  affairs  of  the  administration  than  in 


204  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

insight  into  parliamentary  affairs,  and  so  did  not 
imagine  tlie  whole  truth;  he  had  no  idea  that  the 
great  work  which  filled  his  life  would  be  viewed  by 
the  minister  as  a  theory,  and  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  a  statesman  not  to  confound  it  with  the 
innovators  of  the  dessert,  with  the  chatters  of  the 
chimney-corner. 

At  the  moment  when  the  minister,  standing,  was 
thinking  of  Francois  Keller,  instead  of  Rabour- 
din,  and  only  remained  because  his  wife  offered  him 
a  bunch  of  grapes,  the  servant  announced  the 
chief  of  the  bureau.  Des  Lupeaulx  had  counted 
on  preoccupying  the  minister  by  means  of  the  tales 
he  had  invented;  thus  seeing  the  statesman  talking 
to  his  wife,  he  stood  in  front  of  Rabourdin  and 
crushed  him  by  his  first  sentence. 

"  His  Excellency  and  I  already  know  what  you 
have  on  your  mind,  and  you  have  nothing  to  fear," 
said  des  Lupeaulx,  lowering  his  voice.  Then  raising 
his  voice,  he  added,  "  neither  from  Dutocq  nor  from 
anyone  else." 

"Do  not  be  uneasy,  Rabourdin,"  said  His  Ex- 
cellency, with  kindness,  at  the  same  time  making  a 
movement  as  though  to  retire. 

Rabourdin  advanced  respectfully,  and  so  the 
minister  could  not  avoid  him. 

"  Will  Your  Excellency  deign  to  allow  me  to  say 
two  words  in  private?"  said  Rabourdin,  while  look- 
ing at  him  with  a  mysterious  glance. 

The  minister  looked  at  the  clock  and  went  toward 
the  window,  followed  by  the  poor  chief.    '|' 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  20$ 

**  When  can  I  have  the  honor  of  submitting  this 
matter  to  Your  Excellency?  so  that  I  can  explain  to 
you  the  new  plan  of  administration  which  is  con- 
nected with  the  article  about  which  so  much  fault 
has  been  found — " 

"A  plan  of  administration!"  said  the  minister, 
contracting  his  eyebrows  and  interrupting  him.  "  If 
you  have  something  of  this  kind  to  communicate  to 
me,  you  had  better  wait  for  the  day  when  we  shall 
work  together.  For  to-day  I  have  the  Council,  and 
I  ought  to  make  a  reply  to  the  Chamber  on  the 
point  which  the  Opposition  raised  yesterday,  at  the 
end  of  the  session.  Your  day  is  next  Wednesday; 
we  could  not  work  yesterday,  for  yesterday  I  was 
unable  to  attend  to  the  business  of  the  ministry. 
Political  business  has  interfered  with  purely  ad- 
ministrative affairs." 

**  I  place  my  honor  with  confidence  in  the  hands 
of  Your  Excellency,"  Rabourdin  replied,  seriously, 
**  and  I  entreat  you  not  to  forget  that  you  have  not 
allowed  me  the  time  to  explain  at  once  about  the 
stolen  paper — " 

**  Fear  nothing,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  placing  him- 
self between  the  minister  and  Rabourdin,  whom  he 
interrupted,  "  before  a  week  shall  have  passed  you 
will  doubtless  be  nominated." 

The  minister  laughed  when  he  thought  of  des 
Lupeaulx's  enthusiastic  admiration  for  Madame 
Rabourdin,  and  he  cast  a  side  glance  at  his  wife  who 
smiled.  Rabourdin,  surprised  at  this  by-play,  sought 
its  meaning,  and  so  ceased  to  look  at  the  minister 


206  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

for  a  moment.  His  Excellency  took  advantage  of  it 
to  make  his  escape. 

*  *  We  will  talk  of  that  together,  * '  said  des  Lupeaulx, 
with  whom  the  chief  of  the  office,  much  to  his  sur- 
prise, found  himself  alone.  "  But  do  not  be  vexed 
with  Dutocq.    I  will  answer  for  him." 

"  Madame  Rabourdin  is  a  charming  woman,"  said 
the  minister's  wife  to  the  head  of  the  office,  for  the 
sake  of  saying  something. 

The  children  gazed  at  Rabourdin  with  curiosity. 
Rabourdin  had  expected  a  serious  interview,  and  he 
was  like  a  great  fish  caught  in  the  meshes  of  a  light 
net;  he  struggled  with  himself. 

"  Madame  la  Comtesse  is  very  good,"  he  said. 

**  Shall  I  not  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  her  some 
Wednesday?"  said  the  countess.  "  Bring  her  to  my 
house;  you  will  oblige  me — " 

"Madame  Rabourdin  receives  on  Wednesdays," 
said  des  Lupeaulx,  who  knew  the  insipidity  of  the 
official  Wednesdays,  '*  but  as  you  show  so  much 
kindness  toward  her,  you  will  soon  give  one  of  your 
private  soirees — " 

The  minister's  wife  arose,  annoyed. 

"  You  are  the  master  of  ceremonies  at  my  house," 
she  said  to  des  Lupeaulx. 

These  ambiguous  words  expressed  the  annoyance 
which  des  Lupeaulx  caused  her  when  he  interfered 
with  her  private  soirees,  on  which  occasions  she  only 
admitted  a  select  few.  She  left  the  room,  as  she 
bowed  to  Rabourdin.  Des  Lupeaulx  and  the  head 
clerk  were  then  left  alone  in  the  little  parlor,  where 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  207 

the  minister  was  accustomed  to  breakfast  with  his 
family.  Des  Lupeaulx  was  at  that  moment  twisting 
in  his  hands  the  confidential  letter  which  la  Bridre 
had  carried  to  the  minister,  and  Rabourdin  recog- 
nized it. 

"You  do  not  know  me  thoroughly,"  said  he, 
smiling  to  the  chief  of  the  office.  "  Friday  evening 
we  will  come  to  a  full  understanding.  Now  I  must 
receive  callers.  The  minister  puts  the  burden  of 
everything  on  me  because  he  is  preparing  to  meet 
the  Chamber.  But  1  repeat  to  you,  Rabourdin,  fear 
nothing." 

Rabourdin  loitered  slowly  along  the  stairs,  con- 
fused by  the  singular  turn  things  had  taken.  He 
had  expected  Dutocq  to  denounce  him,  and  he  had 
not  been  mistaken.  Des  Lupeaulx  had  the  very 
document  which  judged  him  so  severely,  at  this 
moment  in  his  hands,  and  des  Lupeaulx  was  flat- 
tering his  judge.  It  was  totally  bewildering!  Men 
usually  comprehend  with  difficulty  deep  intrigues, 
and  Rabourdin  felt  that  he  was  lost  in  this  labyrinth, 
without  having  the  power  to  guess  the  part  played  by 
the  secretary-general. 

"  Either  he  has  not  read  this  article  about  himself, 
or  he  loves  my  wife!"  Such  were  the  two  thoughts 
which  occupied  the  mind  of  the  chief  as  he  traversed 
the  court-yard,  for  the  look  which  he  surprised 
between  Celestine  and  des  Lupeaulx  the  previous 
evening  came  before  him  at  this  moment  like  a  flash 
of  lightning.  During  Rabourdin's  absence  his  office 
had  become  the  scene  of  the  greatest  excitement,  for 


208  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

the  relations  between  the  clerks  and  their  chiefs  in 
the  ministry  are  so  well  regulated  that  the  coming 
of  a  minister's  messenger,  sent  to  the  office  by  His 
Excellency,  and  especially  at  the  hour  when  the 
minister  is  not  to  be  seen,  causes  great  excitement. 
The  coincidence  of  this  extraordinary  communication 
with  the  death  of  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re  gave, 
moreover,  an  undue  importance  to  the  fact  which 
Monsieur  Saillard  learned  through  Monsieur  Clergeot, 
and  he  had  just  conferred  with  his  son-in-law 
thereon.  Bixiou,  who,  at  that  moment,  was  engaged 
with  his  chief,  left  him  conversing  with  his  father-in- 
law  and  withdrew  to  Rabourdin's  office,  where  all 
work  was  interrupted. 

BIXIOU — entering. 

"  There  is  no  great  warmth  about  you,  gentlemen! 
You  have  no  idea  what  is  going  on  down  stairs. 
The  Virtuous  Rabourdin  is  done  for;  yes,  replaced! 
There  is  a  terrible  scene  taking  place  at  the 
ministry." 

DUTOCQ — looking  at  Bixiou. 

*Ms  that  true?" 

BIXIOU. 

"Who  will  be  disturbed  by  that  news.?  That  is 
none  of  your  business!  You  will  become  deputy- 
chief,  and  Du  Bruel  chief.  Monsieur  Baudoyer  will 
be  rewarded  by  the  division." 

FLEURY. 
**  I  bet  a  hundred  francs  that  Baudoyer  will  never 
be  head  of  the  division." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  2O9 

VIMEUX. 
"I   will  join   in  the  bet.     Will   you.   Monsieur 
Poiret?" 

POIRET. 
"  I  have  my  pension  in  January." 

BIXIOU. 
"  How  is  that?     Then  we  shall  never  more  see 
those  laced  shoes?   and  what  will  the  ministry  do 
without  you?     Who  will  take  up  my  bet?" 

DUTOCQ. 
"I  cannot  bet,  for  I  am  too  sure  of  the  result. 
Monsieur  Rabourdin  is  appointed.  Monsieur  de  la 
Billardi^re,  while  on  his  death-bed,  recommended 
him  to  the  two  ministers  for  the  position,  while  he 
confessed  that  he  had  taken  money  for  a  position 
while  Rabourdin  had  done  all  the  work;  for  this  he 
had  scruples  of  conscience,  and  in  order  to  calm  him 
they  promised,  unless  ordered  otherwise  by  superior 
authority,  to  appoint  Rabourdin." 

BIXIOU. 
''Gentlemen,  are  you  all  against  me?  Look,  there 
are  seven  of  you!  For  you  will  be  in  this  bet. 
Monsieur  Phellion.  I  bet  a  five  hundred  franc  dinner 
at  the  Rocher  de  Cancale  that  Rabourdin  has  not 
obtained  La  Billardi^re's  place.  That  will  not  cost 
you  a  hundred  francs  each,  and  as  for  me,  I  venture 
five  hundred.  I  will  play  the  stroke  alone  then. 
Shall  we  leave  it  thus?  Do  you  agree,  Du  Bruel?" 
14 


310  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

PHELLION — laying  down  his  pen. 

**Sir,  on  what  data  do  you  found  this  uncertain 
proposition?  for  uncertain  is  the  word.  But  I  am 
wrong  in  using  the  word  proposition;  I  meant  to  say 
contract.    A  wager  constitutes  a  contract." 

FLEURY. 
*'  No,  for  the  name  contract  can  only  be  given  to 
those  agreements  recognized  by  the  Code,  and  the 
Code  allows  no  suit  for  recovering  a  bet." 

DUTOCQ. 
"  To  reject  it  is  the  same  as  to  recognize  it." 

BIXIOU. 
"That  is  a  rather  strong  expression,  my  little 
Dutocq." 

POIRET. 
"  For  example." 

FLEURY. 
**  True.   It  is  the  same  as  by  refusing  to  pay  one's 
debts,  one  acknowledges  them." 

THUILLIER. 
"You  would  make  famous  jurists." 

POIRET. 
"  I  am  as  curious  as  Monsieur  Phellion  to  know 
what  grounds  Monsieur  Bixiou  has — " 

BIXIOU — shouting  across  the  office. 

"  Are  you  a  bettor,  Du  Bruel?" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  211 

DU    BRUEL appearin?. 

**  Zounds,  gentlemen,  I  have  something  difficult 
to  do,  which  consists  in  writing  an  obituary  on  the 
death  of  de  la  Billardi^re.  Pray,  do  keep  quiet; 
after  I  am  through,  you  may  laugh  and  bet." 

THUILLIER. 

**  Joking  or  not!    You  infringe  upon  my  puns!" 

BIXIOU — enterine  Du  Bruel's  office. 

"  That  is  so,  Du  Bruel.  It  is  very  difficult  to  praise 
a  good  man;  I  would  rather  make  his  caricature!" 

DU  BRUEL. 

"Will  you  help  me,  then,  Bixiou.?" 

BIXIOU. 

"  I  will  with  pleasure,  although  such  articles  are 
better  done  while  eating." 

DU  BRUEL. 

"  We  will  dine  together — Reads  aioud. — 'Religion  and 
the  monarchy  are  daily  losing  many  of  those  who 
fought  for  them  in  revolutionary  times.*  " 

BIXIOU. 
"  Bad.  I  would  say:  '  Death  carries  on  its  ravages 
particularly  among  the  old  defenders  of  the  monarchy 
and  the  most  faithful  servants  of  the  king,  whose  heart 
bleeds  under  so  many  blows.* — Du  Bruei  writes  rapidly. — 
'  Monsieur  le  Baron  Flamet  de  la  Billardi^re  died  this 
morning  of  dropsy  of  the  chest,  caused  by  an  affec- 
tion of  the  heart.*  Do  you  see,  it  is  not  an  uninter- 
esting matter  to  show  that  there  are  hearts  in  these 
government  offices.    Shall  I  run  in  here  a  few  lines 


212  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

about  the  emotions  of  the  Royalists  during  the  Reign 
of  Terror?  Heh!  that  would  not  be  amiss.  But, 
no;  the  small  newspapers  would  say  that  the  emo- 
tions have  their  origin  rather  in  the  stomach  than  in 
the  heart.  Suppose  we  do  not  mention  that.  What 
have  you  written?" 

DU  BRUEL — readinsrfttoud. 

**  Having  been  born  of  old  parliamentary  stock — " 

BIXIOU. 
"  That  is  good!  it  is  poetic,  and  stock  is  profoundly 
true." 

DU  BRUEL — continuing. 

*'  In  which  devotion  to  the  throne  was  hereditary, 
as  well  as  the  attachment  to  the  faith  of  our  fathers. 
Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re — " 

BIXIOU. 
"  I  would  speak  of  him  as  Monsieur  le  Baron,** 

DU  BRUEL. 
"  But  he  was  not  a  baron  in  1793." 

BIXIOU. 
"  That  does  not  make  any  difference.  You  know 
that  under  the  Empire,  Fouche,  when  telling  an 
anecdote  about  the  Convention,  in  which  Robes- 
pierre was  speaking  to  him,  told  it  thus,  *  Robespierre 
said  to  me:  Due  d'Otrante,  you  will  go  to  the  Hotel 
de  VUlel'    There  is  a  precedent  for  you." 

DU  BRUEL. 
"  Let  me  take  a  note  of  that  word!    But  let  us 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  213 

not  write  le  baron,  for  I  have  reserved  for  the  last 
the  honors  which  were  showered  on  him." 
BIXIOU. 
"Ah!  well.    That  is  dramatic,  the  whole  outline 
of  the  article." 

DU  BRUEL. 
"Do  you  see? — In  nominating  Monsieur  de  la, 
Billardi^re  baron,  gentleman-in-ordinary — " 

BIXIOU— aside. 

"Very  ordinary." 

DU  BRUEL — continuing. 

"Of  the  bed-chamber,  etc.,  the  king  rewarded  at 
one  time  all  the  services  rendered  by  the  Provost, 
the  severity  of  whose  duties  was  disguised  by  the 
gentlemanly  polish  common  to  the  Bourbons,  and 
bravery  of  the  Vendean  hero,  who  had  never  bent 
the  knee  before  the  imperial  idol.  He  leaves  a 
son,  who  inherits  his  loyalty  and  his  talents,  etc." 

BIXIOU. 

"  Is  that  not  in  too  high  a  key,  too  highly  colored? 
I  should  advise  the  toning  down  of  this  poetry:  the 
imperial  idol,  to  bend  the  kneel  The  devil!  Writ- 
ing vaudevilles  has  ruined  your  manner,  and  you 
are  no  longer  capable  of  a  solid  prose  style.  I 
would  put:  *  He  belonged  to  the  small  number  of  those 
who,  etc.*  Simplify  your  expressions,  for  you  are 
dealing  with  a  simple  man." 

DU  BRUEL. 

"One  word  more  on  vaudeville.  You  would 
make  your  fortune  at  the  theatre,  Bixiou." 


214  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

BIXIOU. 

"What  have  you  said  about  Quiberon? — He  reads 
aloud. — That  will  not  do!  I  would  say:  *  In  a  book 
recently  published  he  took  upon  himself  the  respon- 
sibility of  all  the  misfortunes  connected  with  the 
expedition  to  Quiberon — thus  showing  a  test  of 
loyalty  which  shrank  from  no  sacrifice.'  That 
is  clever,  bright,  and  saves  La  Billardi^re  from 
reproach.'* 

DU  BRUEL. 

"  At  whose  expense?" 

BIXIOU — as  solemnly  as  a  priest  mounting  the  pulpK. 

"  At  Hoche's  and  Tallien's  expense.  You  have 
no  knowledge  of  history?" 

DU  BRUEL. 

**  No.  I  subscribed  to  the  Baudouin  collection,  but 
I  have  never  had  time  to  open  it;  there  is  not  one 
subject  for  a  vaudeville  in  it." 

PHELLION — ^at  the  door. 

"  We  want  to  know  everything,  Monsieur  Bixiou. 
Who  can  induce  you  to  believe  that  the  virtuous  and 
worthy  Monsieur  Rabourdin — who  has  replaced  de  la 
Billardi^re  during  his  nine  months'  illness,  who  is 
the  oldest  head  clerk  of  the  ministry,  and  whom  the 
minister,  on  returning  from  Monsieur  de  la  Billar- 
di^re's  house,  sent  his  servant  to  summon — ^will  not 
be  appointed  head  of  the  division?" 

BIXIOU. 
"  Papa  Phellion,  you  understand  geography?" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  21$ 

PHELLION stralehteninj. 

"Sir,  I  flatter  myself  that  I  do." 

BIXIOU. 
"History?" 

PHELLION — with  a  modest  look. 

"  Perhaps." 

BIXIOU — looking  at  him. 

"  The  setting  of  your  diamond  is  loose;  it  may  fall. 
Well,  yes,  but  you  do  not  know  the  human  heart. 
You  know  no  more  about  it  than  you  do  about  the 
environs  of  Paris." 

POIRET — to  Vimeux-ln  alow  voice. 

"  The  environs  of  Paris?  I  thought  that  he  was 
talking  about  Monsieur  Rabourdin." 

BIXIOU. 
"  Is  Rabourdin's  entire  ofifice  betting  against  me?" 

ALL 

"Yes." 

BIXIOU. 
"  Du  Bruel,  are  you  in  it?" 

DU  BRUEL. 
"I  should  say  so!    It  is  for  our  interest  that  our 
chief  be  promoted.   In  that  case,  everyone  in  the 
office  will  step  up  a  peg." 

BIXIOU. 
"I  will  bet.    Let  me  tell  you  why.    It  will  be 
difficult  for  you  to  understand,  but  let  me  tell  it  to 


2l6  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

you  all  the  same.  It  is  but  right  that  Monsieur 
Rabourdin  should  be  appointed,  —he  fiances  at  Dutocq — 
for  in  selecting  him  long  service,  talent,  and  integrity 
would  be  recognized,  appreciated  and  rewarded. 
This  appointment  would  be  in  the  best  interests  of 

the  administration. —  Pheinon.  Polret  and  Thunner,  llstenlne 
without  understanding:  a  word,  are  lilte  peopie  trying  to  see  clearly  in  the 

darit. — Very  well.  In  consequence  of  his  entire  fitness 
for  it  and  his  merits,  in  recognizing  how  greatly  such 
an  act  would  be  equitable  and  wise,  I  bet  that  he 
will  not  be  appointed.  Yes,  it  will  be  a  case  like 
that  of  the  expeditions  to  Boulogne  and  to  Russia, 
where  genius  united  every  element  of  success.  It 
will  fail,  as  will  fail  everything  here  below  that 
seems  just  and  good.     I  play  the  devil's  games." 

DU  BRUEL. 
"Who,  then,  will  be  appointed?" 

BIXIOU. 
"  The  more  I  think  about  Baudoyer,  the  more  I 
think  he  unites  in  himself  all  the  contrary  qualities, 
and  so  he  will  be  head  of  this  division." 

DUTOCQ — Pushed  to  his  last  extremity. 

"  But  Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx,  who  sent  for  me  to 
come  here  to  borrow  my  Charlet,  told  me  that 
Monsieur  Rabourdin  would  be  nominated,  and  that 
the  little  La  Billardi^re  would  be  made  keeper  of 
the  seals." 

BIXIOU. 

"Appointed!  appointed!  The  appointment  will 
not  be  signed  for  ten  days  yet.    The  appointment 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  317 

will  date  from  the  first  day  of  the  year.  Look,  see 
your  chief  in  the  court,  and  tell  me  if  my  yirtuous- 
Rabourdin  has  the  air  of  a  man  in  favor.  One  would 
think  that  he  had  been  discharged! — Reury  rushes  to  the 
window. — Adieu,  gentlemen.  I  am  going  to  tell  Mon- 
sieur Baudoyer  that  you  have  chosen  Monsieur 
Rabourdin;  that  will  anger  him  exceedingly,  the 
holy  man!  Then  I  will  tell  him  about  our  bet,  so 
that  he  may  take  heart  again.  That  is  what  we  call 
in  the  theatre  the  event,  is  it  not,  Du  Bruel?  What 
does  that  matter  to  me?  If  I  win,  he  will  make  me 
head  clerk." — Heeoesout 

POIRET. 
**  Everyone  says  that  this  man  is  clever.  Well,  as 
for  me,  I  can  never  understand  a  word  he  says 
— he  goes  on  copying. — I  listen  to  it,  and  I  listen  to  it;  I 
hear  words  without  sense.  He  talks  about  the 
environs  of    Paris  in   the  same   breath  with  the 

human    heart  and — he  l«ys  down  his  pen  and  goes  to  the  stove— 

says  that  he  is  playing  the  devil's  game  when 
speaking  about  the  expeditions  of  Russia  and 
Boulogne!  One  must  first  admit  that  the  devil  can 
play,  and  then  know  what  game!  I  would  first 
mention  the  game  of  dominoes." — He  tiows  his  nose. 

FLEURY — Interrupting. 

**  It  must  be  eleven  o'clock,  for  Father  Poiret  blows 
his  nose." 

DU  BRUEL. 

"  That  must  be  so — already!  I  must  hurry  to  the 
office." 


2l8  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

POIRET. 
"  What  was  I  saying?" 

THUILLIER. 
**  Domino  to  the  Seigneur;  for  the  devil  is  in 
question,  and  he  is  a  sovereign  without  any  charter. 
But  this  aims  more  at  the  point  than  at  the  pun. 
That  is  a  play  on  words.  As  for  the  rest,  I  cannot 
see  the  difference  between  a  play  on  words  and — " 

Stbastien  enters  to  gather  up  documents  for  slg:nature  and  for  correction. 
VIMEUX. 

"  You  here,  fine  young  man?  The  time  of  your 
sorrows  is  ended;  you  will  be  appointed!  Monsieur 
Rabourdin  will  be  nominated.  You  were  present 
last  evening  at  Madame  Rabourdin's  soiree.  Were 
you  not  delighted  to  be  present!  It  is  said  that  one 
always  meets  superb  women  there." 

S^BASTIEN. 
"  I  do  not  know." 

FLEURY. 
"Are  you  blind?" 

S^BASTIEN. 

"I  do  not  like  to  look  at  what  I  cannot  possess." 

PHELLION — enchanted. 

"  Well  said,  young  man." 

VIMEUX. 
**  You  pay  great  attention  to  Madame  Rabourdin. 
The  devil!  She  is  a  charming  woman." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  219 

FLEURY. 
"  Bah!   a  very  thin  figure.    I  saw  her  in  the 
Tuileries;  I  much  prefer  Percilliee,  the  head  ballet 
girl,  Castaing's  victim." 

PHELLION. 
**  But  what  has  an  actress  to  do  with  the  wife  of 
the  chief  of  the  office?" 

DUTOCQ. 
"  They  both  play  comedy." 

FLEURY — regarding  Dutocq  sideways. 

"  The  physical  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  moral 
character,  and  if  you  mean,  by  that,  that — " 

DUTOCQ. 
"Oh,  I  mean  nothing." 

FLEURY. 
*'  Do  you  wish  to  know  who  will  be  head  of  the 
office?" 

ALL. 
"Tell  us!" 

FLEURY. 
"ItwillbeCoIleville." 

THUILLIER, 
"Why?" 

FLEURY. 
"  Madame  Colleville  has  taken  the  short  cut  to- 
ward this  position — the  road  through  the  sacristy — " 

THUILLIER— dryly. 

"  I  am  such  a  dear  friend  of  Colleville  that  I  must 


230  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

beg  you,  Monsieur  Fleury,  not  to  speak  so  lightly  of 
his  wife." 

PHELLION. 

"Never  should  women,  who  have  no  means  of 
defending  themselves,  be  the  subject  of  our  con- 
versations—" 

VIMEUX. 

"All  the  more  because  Madame  Colleville  has 
not  chosen  to  receive  Fleury,  he  disparages  her  for 
the  sake  of  revenge." 

FLEURY. 
"  She  did  not  wish  to  receive  me  on  the  same 
footing  as  she  does  Thuillier,  but  I  go  there — " 

THUILLIER. 
"When? — ^Where? — under  her  windows?"— 


Although  Fleury  was  dreaded  in  the  office  for  his 
blustering,  he  accepted  in  silence  Thuiliier's  last 
word.  This  resignation,  which  surprised  the  clerks, 
was  caused  by  a  note  for  two  hundred  francs,  with 
a  doubtful  signature,  which  Thuillier  was  going  to 
present  to  Mademoiselle  Thuillier,  his  sister.  After 
this  skirmish,  deep  silence  ensued.  Every  one 
worked  from  one  to  three  o'clock.  Du  Bruel  did 
not  return. 

About  half-past  three,  the  preparations  for  depart- 
ure, the  brushing  of  hats,  the  changing  of  coats,  etc., 
went  on  simultaneously  in  all  the  offices  of  the 
ministry.  This  precious  half-hour,  spent  in  fussing 
about,  shortened  by  so  much  the  hours  of  labor. 
At  this  time  the  over-heated  stove  cools  off,  the 
odor  peculiar  to  offices  evaporates,  and  silence  is 
restored.  At  four  o'clock  no  one  remains  except 
the  clerks  proper,  those  who  take  their  duty  con- 
scientiously. A  minister  may  know  who  are  the 
real  workers  in  his  ministry  by  going  through  the 
offices  at  precisely  four  o'clock — a  kind  of  spying  to 
which  these  dignified  personages  do  not  descend. 

At  this  hour,  in  the  courts,  some  chiefs  meet  to 
talk  over  their  opinions  in  regard  to  the  events  of 
the  day.  Usually  they  were  grouped  in  twos  or 
threes,  and  they  concluded  their  arguments  in  favor 
of  Rabourdin,  but  old  stagers,  like  Monsieur  Clergeot, 
shook  their  heads,  saying:  Habent  sua  sidera  lites. 
Can) 


222  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Saillard  and  Baudoyer  were  politely  avoided,  for  no 
one  knew  wiiat  to  say  to  tliem  about  La  Billardi^re's 
death,  and  every  one  knew  that  Baudoyer  wanted 
the  place,  although  it  was  not  his  due. 

When  the  son-in-law  and  his  father-in-law  found 
that  they  had  gone  sufficiently  far  from  the  ministry, 
Saillard  broke  the  silence,  by  saying:  "  That  looks 
bad  for  you,  my  poor  Baudoyer." 

"I  do  not  understand,"  said  the  chief,  "of  what 
l^lisabeth  was  thinking  when  she  sent  Godard  in 
such  haste  to  procure  the  passport  for  Falleix. 
Godard  tells  me  that  she  hired  a  post-chaise,  by  the 
advice  of  my  uncle  Mitral,  and  that  even  now  Falleix 
is  on  his  way  to  his  own  part  of  the  country." 

"  Without  doubt,  some  matter  relative  to  our  busi- 
ness," said  Saillard. 

**  The  most  pressing  business  for  us  at  this  moment 
is  to  look  out  for  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re's  place." 

By  this  time  they  had  arrived  opposite  the  Palais* 
Royal  in  Rue  Saint-Honore.  Dutocq  saluted  them, 
bowed  and  entered  into  conversation  with  them. 

"Sir,"  said  he  to  Baudoyer,  "if  I  can  be  of  any 
use  to  you  in  the  circumstances  in  which  you  are 
placed,  I  am  at  your  disposal,  for  I  am  not  less 
devoted  to  you  than  Monsieur  Godard." 

"Such  an  assurance  is  at  least  consoling,"  said 
Baudoyer,  "and  merits  the  esteem  of  worthy 
people." 

"  If  you  will  deign  to  use  your  influence  to  place 
me  near  to  you  as  deputy  chief,  by  selecting 
Bixiou  for  your  chief,  you  will  make  the  fortune  of 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  223 

two  men  capable  of  doing  anything  to  further  your 
advancement.'* 

"You  are  making  fun  of  us,  sir?"  said  Saillard, 
staring  stupidly." 

"That  is  far  from  my  thoughts,"  said  Dutocq. 
"  I  have  just  come  from  the  printing  office  of  the 
journal  where  I  went  to  carry — by  request  of  the 
secretary -general — a  notice  on  Monsieur  de  la  Billar- 
di^re.  This  article,  which  I  then  read,  has  given 
me  the  highest  opinion  of  your  talents.  When  the 
time  comes  to  crush  Rabourdin,  I  have  it  in  my 
power  to  give  a  tremendous  final  blow,  deign  to 
remember  that." 

Dutocq  disappeared. 

"I'll  be  hanged  if  I  understand  a  word  of  this," 
said  the  cashier,  looking  at  Baudoyer,  whose  little 
eyes  looked  on  with  singular  stupefaction.  "We 
must  buy  the  paper  this  evening." 

When  Saillard  and  his  son-in-law  entered  their 
parlor  on  the  ground-floor,  they  saw  Madame  Sail- 
lard, Elisabeth,  Monsieur  Gaudron  and  the  curate 
of  Saint-Paul  in  front  of  a  large  fire.  The  curate 
turned  toward  Monsieur  Baudoyer,  to  whom  his 
wife  made  a  sign  which  he  failed  to  comprehend. 

"Sir,"  said  the  curate,  "I  have  lost  no  time  in 
coming  to  thank  you  for  the  magnificent  gift  with 
which  you  have  adorned  my  poor  church.  I  dared 
not  run  in  debt  in  order  to  buy  that  beautiful  mon- 
strance worthy  of  a  cathedral.  You,  who  are  one  of 
our  most  pious  and  faithful  parishioners,  you,  before 
all  others,  must  have  been  struck  with  the  bareness 


234  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

of  our  high  altar.  In  a  few  moments  I  will  see  Mon- 
seigneur,  the  coadjutor,  and  he  will  soon  send  you 
his  thanks." 

"  1  have  done  nothing  yet — ,"  said  Baudoyer. 

**  Monsieur  le  Cure,"  replied  his  wife,  cutting  her 
husband's  sentence  short,  **  I  will  betray  his  whole 
secret.  Monsieur  Baudoyer  hopes  to  complete  his 
gift  by  giving  you  a  dais  for  the  coming  Fgte  Dieu. 
But  this  acquisition  depends  somewhat  on  the  state 
of  our  finances,  and  our  finances  depend  on  our 
advancement." 

"God  recompenses  those  who  honor  Him,"  said 
Monsieur  Gaudron,  as  he  withdrew  with  the  curate. 

**  Why,"  said  Saillard  to  Monsieur  Gaudron  and 
the  curate,  "  why  will  you  not  do  us  the  honor  of 
dining  with  us  pot-luck?" 

"Stay,  my  dear  vicar," said  the  curate  to  Gaud- 
ron. 

"  You  know  that  I  am  engaged  to  dine  with  the 
curate  of  Saint-Roch,  who  will  conduct  the  burial 
services  for  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re  to-morrow." 

"  Can  the  curate  of  Saint-Roch  say  a  word  for 
us?"  said  Baudoyer,  whose  wife  pulled  the  skirts 
of  his  coat  violently. 

"  Keep  quiet,  Baudoyer!"  she  said,  while  leading 
him  into  a  corner  so  that  she  could  whisper  in  his  ear: 
"You  have  given  a  monstrance  to  the  church,  that 
is  worth  five  thousand  francs.  I  will  explain  every- 
thing to  you." 

The  avaricious  Baudoyer  made  a  horrible  grimace, 
and  remained  thoughtful  during  the  entire  dinner. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  225 

**  Why,  then,  were  you  so  agitated  about  Falleix's 
passport?  Why  do  you  meddle  in  the  matter?"  he 
added. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  Falleix's  affairs  somewhat 
concern  us,"  Elisabeth  replied  dryly,  throwing  a 
glance  at  her  husband  to  make  him  cognizant  of  the 
presence  of  Monsieur  Gaudron,  before  whom  he 
ought  to  be  silent. 

"  Certainly,"  said  Father  Saillard,  thinking  of  his 
interest  in  the  business. 

"  I  hope  you  arrived  at  the  newspaper  office  in 
time,"  said  Elisabeth  to  Monsieur  Gaudron,  as  she 
gave  him  some  soup. 

"Yes,  my  dear  Madame,"  the  vicar  replied,  "as 
soon  as  the  editor  of  the  paper  saw  the  short  article 
written  by  the  secretary  of  the  Grand  Almoner,  he 
placed  no  further  difficulty  in  its  way.  The  little 
slip  he  took  pains  to  place  in  the  most  desirable 
position.  I  should  never  have  thought  of  that;  but 
this  young  journalist  has  a  very  bright  mind.  The 
defenders  of  religion  can  fight  against  impiety  without 
disadvantage,  for  there  is  a  great  deal  of  talent  in 
the  royalist  press.  I  have  every  reason  to  think 
that  success  will  crown  your  hopes.  But  remember, 
my  dear  Baudoyer,  to  look  after  Monsieur  Colle- 
ville's  interests;  he  is  an  object  of  great  interest  to 
His  Eminence.  I  am  requested  to  speak  to  you  about 
him—" 

"  If  I  am  head  of  the  division,  I  will  make  him 
head  of  one  of  my  offices,  if  it  is  desiredl"  said 
Baudoyer. 
15 


226  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

The  answer  to  the  enigma  came  after  dinner  was 
over.  The  ministerial  newspaper  bought  by  the 
porter  contained,  among  the  Paris  news,  the  two  fol- 
lowing articles,  called  items: 

"  The  Baron  de  la  Billardiftre  died  this  morning,  after  a 
long  and  painful  illness.  In  him  the  King  loses  a  devoted 
subject,  and  the  Church  one  of  her  most  pious  children. 
Monsieur  de  la  Billardiere's  last  days  have  fitly  crowned  his 
noble  life,  which  during  tempestuous  times  was  entirely  con- 
secrated to  perilous  missions,  and  has  been  of  late  years 
devoted  to  the  most  arduous  duties  of  his  position.  Monsieur 
de  la  Billardifere,  was  marshal  of  a  department  where  his 
ability  triumphed  over  the  obstacles  which  were  Increased  by 
the  rebellion.  He  accepted  the  arduous  position  of  director  of 
a  division,  in  which  his  brilliancy  was  not  less  useful  than 
the  French  suavity  of  his  manners,  in  arranging  the  grave 
affairs  which  were  under  consideration  there.  No  rewards 
could  have  been  better  deserved  than  those  by  which  the 
King,  Louis  XVIIl.,  and  His  Majesty  took  pleasure  in  crown- 
ing his  loyalty,  which  had  never  swerved  under  the  usurper. 
This  oldfamily  will  revive  in  his  son,  who  inherits  the  talents 
and  devotion  of  the  worthy  man  whose  loss  grieves  so  many 
friends.  His  Majesty  has  already,  by  a  gracious  word,  given 
it  to  be  understood  that  he  considered  Monsieur  Benjamin  de 
la  Billardiere  among  the  number  of  gentlemen-in-ordinary  of 
the  bed-chamber. 

"The  numerous  friends  who  perchance  have  not  been 
notified  in  regard  to  the  funeral  services,  or  those  who  have 
not  received  the  notice  in  time,  are  informed  that  the  obsequies 
will  tai<e  place  to-morrow  at  four  o'clock  in  Saint-Roch 
Church.  The  memorial  sermon  will  be  delivered  by  the 
Abb6  Fontanon." 

"Monsieur  Isidore  Baudoyer,  who  represents  one  of  the 
oldest  bourgeois  families  of  Paris,  and  who  is  head  of  an 
office  in  La  Billardiere's  division,  has  of  late  recalled  the  old 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  227 

traditions  of  piety  which  distinguished  these  great  families,  so 
jealous  for  the  glory  of  religion  and  so  friendly  to  its  monu- 
ments. Saint-Paul's  Church  needed  a  monstrance,  cor- 
responding to  the  magnificence  of  that  basilica,  which  was 
built  by  the  Society  of  Jesus.  Neither  the  vestry  nor  the 
curate  were  rich  enough  to  decorate  the  altar.  Monsieur 
Baudoyer  has  presented  this  parish  with  the  monstrance 
which  many  people  have  admired  at  Monsieur  Gohier's— the 
King's  jeweler.  Thanks  to  this  pious  man,  who  did  not 
cavil  at  the  enormous  price,  Saint-Paul's  Church  possesses, 
to-day,  this  master-piece  of  the  goldsmith's  art,  the  design 
for  which  was  drawn  by  Monsieur  de  Somraervieux.  We 
take  pleasure  in  publishing  a  fact  which  proves  how  little 
effect  the  declamations  of  liberalism  have  on  the  minds  of  the 
Parisian  bourgeoisie.  At  all  times  the  highest  class  of  the 
bourgeoisie  have  been  royalists,  and  they  always  prove  it 
when  occasion  offers." 

**  The  price  was  five  thousand  francs,"  said  the 
Abbe  Gaudron,  **  but,  as  the  money  was  paid  down, 
the  court  jeweler  reduced  the  amount." 

"  Representing  one  of  the  oldest  families  of  the  Paris- 
ian bourgeoisie  !**  said  Saillard.  "It  is  printed,  and 
in  the  ofificial  newspaper,  too!" 

**  Dear  Monsieur  Gaudron,  do  aid  my  father  to 
compose  a  little  speech  to  slip  into  the  ear  of  the 
countess  when  he  carries  her  the  monthly  stipend, 
a  sentence  which  shall  comprise  everything.  I  will 
leave  you.  I  must  go  out  with  my  Uncle  Mitral. 
Would  you  believe  that  it  has  been  impossible  for 
me  to  find  my  Uncle  Bidault?  And  in  what  a  hovel 
he  lives!  But  Monsieur  Mitral,  who  knows  his  ways, 
says  that  he  transacts  all  his  business  between 
eight  o'clock  and  noon,  that  after  that  hour  he  can 


228  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

only  be  found  at  the  caf6  named  Themis,  a  peculiar 
name — " 

"  Is  justice  done  there?"  said  the  Abbe  Gaudron, 
laughing. 

"  Why  does  he  go  to  a  cafe  at  the  corner  of  Rue 
Dauphine  and  the  Quai  des  Augustins?  It  is  said 
that  he  plays  dominoes  there  every  evening  with 
his  friend,  Monsieur  Gobseck.  I  do  not  care  to  go 
there  alone;  my  uncle  takes  me  there  and  calls  for 
me." 

At  this  moment  appeared  Mitral's  yellow  face  and 
sleek  wig,  which  looked  as  though  it  were  made  of 
dog-grass;  he  motioned  to  his  niece  to  come  immedi- 
ately, so  as  not  to  waste  time  which  cost  two  francs 
per  hour.  Madame  Baudoyer  left  at  this  time 
without  giving  any  explanation  to  her  father  or  her 
husband. 

As  soon  as  Elisabeth  had  disappeared,  Monsieur 
Gaudron  said  to  Monsieur  Baudoyer: 

"  In  this  woman  heaven  has  given  you  a  treasure 
of  prudence  and  virtue,  a  model  of  wisdom,  a  Chris- 
tian woman  possessing  a  divine  spirit.  Religion 
alone  is  able  to  form  such  perfect  characters.  To- 
morrow, I  will  say  mass  for  the  success  of  the  good 
cause!  The  interests  of  the  monarchy  and  religion 
require  that  you  shall  be  appointed.  Monsieur 
Rabourdin  is  a  Liberal;  he  subscribes  to  the  Journal 
des  Dibats,  a  dangerous  paper,  which  made  war  on  the 
Comte  de  Vill^le,  to  serve  the  defeated  interests  of 
Monsieur  de  Chateaubriand.  His  Eminence  will  read 
the  newspaper  this  evening,  if  only  for  the  sake  of 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  229 

his  poor  friend,  Monsieur  de  la  Billardi^re,  and  Mon- 
siegneur,  the  coadjutor,  will  speak  to  him  about  you 
and  Rabourdin.  I  am  acquainted  with  the  curate; 
when  thinking  of  his  dear  church,  he  will  not  forget 
you  in  his  address;  further,  he  is  at  this  moment 
dining  with  the  coadjutor,  at  the  house  of  the  curate 
of  Saint-Roch." 

At  these  words,  Saillard  and  Baudoyer  began  to 
perceive  that  Elisabeth  had  not  been  idle  since  the 
time  Godard  had  informed  her. 

"Isn't  she  shrewd,  this  Elisabeth,"  said  Saillard, 
who  comprehended  more  clearly  than  the  abbe  the 
rapid  mole's  path  which  his  daughter  had  made. 

"She  sent  Godard  to  Monsieur  Rabourdin's  door 
to  find  out  what  newspaper  he  took,"  said  Gaudron; 
"and  I  told  the  result  of  my  observations  to  the 
secretary  of  His  Eminence,  for  we  live  in  a  time 
when  the  church  and  the  throne  ought  to  take 
especial  care  to  find  out  who  are  their  friends  and 
who  their  enemies." 

"  I  have  been  five  days  trying  to  make  up  a  sen- 
tence to  say  to  the  wife  of  His  Excellency,*  said 
Saillard." 

"All  Paris  will  read  it,"  said  Baudoyer,  whose 
eyes  were  riveted  on  the  newspaper. 

"Your  eulogy  has  cost  us" four  thousand  eight 
hundred  francs,  my  boy,"  said  Madame  Saillard. 

"You  have  embellished  God's  house,"  the  Abb6 
Gaudron  replied. 

"We  might  have  saved  our  souls  without  that," 
she  continued.     "  But  if  Baudoyer  gets  the  place. 


230  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

which  is  worth  eight  thousand  francs  more  than  he 
receives  at  present,  the  expenditure  will  not  be  so 
great.  And  if  he  should  not  get  it? — Hey!  my 
Mother!"  she  said,  while  glancing  at  her  husband, 
**  what  a  bleeding! — " 

**Ah!  well,"  said  Saillard,  enthusiastically,  "we 
would  make  up  our  deficiency  through  Falleix,  who 
is  now  about  to  extend  his  business  by  making  use 
of  his  brother,  whom  he  has  made  a  stock-broker 
purposely.  Elisabeth  should  certainly  have  told  us 
why  Falleix  has  gone  away  so  suddenly.  But  let 
us  compose  the  sentence.  This  is  what  I  have  thus 
far  thought  of:  Madame,  if  you  would  only  say  a  word 
or  two  to  His  Excellency — " 

^*  If  you  would!  "  said  Gaudron,  "or,  if  to  speak 
more  respectfully,  condescend.  Besides,  you  must 
find  out,  before  everything,  whether  Madame  la 
Dauphine  will  grant  you  her  support,  for  then  you 
would  be  able  to  suggest  the  idea  of  co-operating 
with  the  wishes  of  Her  Royal  Highness." 

**  It  will  also  be  necessary  to  designate  the  vacant 
place,"  said  Baudoyer. 

"Madame  la  Comtesse,"  replied  Saillard,  rising  and 
smiling  agreeably  at  his  wife. 

"  Jesus!  Saillard,  how  droll  you  are!  But,  my  son, 
take  care  now;  you  will  make  the  woman  laugh." 

"Madame  la  Comtesse,  have  I  improved?"  he 
said,  while  looking  at  his  wife. 

"Yes,  my  darling." 

"  The  place  of  the  late  worthy  Monsieur  de  la  Billar 
di^re  is  vacant;  my  son-in-law.  Monsieur  Baudoyer — " 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  23 1 

*'A  man  of  great  talent  and  extreme  piety ,"  Gaudron 
whispered. 

"Write  it  down,  Baudoyer,"  said  old  Saillard; 
"write  that  sentence." 

Baudoyer  naively  took  his  pen  and  wrote  down 
his  own  praises  without  blushing;  this  he  did  abso- 
lutely as  Nathan  or  Canalis  would  have  done  in 
describing  one  of  their  own  books. 

"Madame  la  Comtesse — do  you  see?"  said  Sail- 
lard to  his  wife.  "  I  am  supposing  that  you  are  the 
minister's  wife." 

**  Do  you  take  me  for  a  simpleton?  I  understand 
it,"  she  replied. 

"  The  place  of  the  late  worthy  Monsieur  de  la  Bil- 
lardi^re  is  vacant;  my  son-in-law.  Monsieur  Baudoyer, 
a  man  of  great  talent  and  extreme  piety — " 

After  looking  at  Monsieur  Gaudron,  who  was 
reflecting,  he  added: 

"Would  he  very  happy  if  he  should  get  it.  Ah! 
that  is  not  bad;  it  is  brief,  and  at  the  same  time  says 
everything  that  is  necessary." 

**  But  wait,  Saillard!  Do  you  not  see  that  the 
abbe  is  meditating?"  said  his  wife;  "do  not  disturb 
him  now." 

"Would  he  very  happy  if  you  would  deign  to  interest 
yourself  in  his  hehalf,"  replied  Gaudron,  "and,  in 
saying  a  word  or  two  to  His  Excellency,  you  would 
especially  please  the  Dauphiness,  hy  whom  he  has  the 
honor  of  heing  protected." 

"Ah!  Monsieur  Gaudron,  this  sentence  alone  is 
worth  the  monstrance;   I  now  regret  less  the  four 


232  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

thousand  eight  hundred. — Besides,  say  then,  Bau- 
doyer,  you  will  pay  them,  my  lad! — Have  you 
written  everything  down?" 

"I  shall  make  you  repeat  it,  mother!"  said 
Madame  Saillard,  "  and  I  will  make  you  say  it  over 
every  morning  and  evening.  Yes,  very  well  turned, 
is  this  sentence!  How  happy  you  must  be  that  you 
are  so  wise.  Monsieur  Gaudron!  See  what  it  is  to 
have  studied  in  the  seminaries;  there  one  learns  to 
speak  to  God  and  His  saints." 

"  He  is  as  good  as  he  is  learned,"  said  Baudoyer, 
while  pressing  the  priest's  hands.  "  Did  you  write 
that  article?"  he  asked,  at  the  same  time  showing 
him  the  newspaper. 

"No,"  said  Gaudron,  *' this  was  written  by  the 
Secretary  to  His  Eminence,  a  young  abbe  who  is 
under  great  obligations  to  me  and  who  is  interested 
in  Monsieur  Colleville;  in  times  past  I  paid  his  ex- 
penses at  college." 

"  A  good  deed  always  has  its  reward,"  said  Bau- 
doyer. 

While  these  four  people  sat  down  to  their  game 
of  boston,  Elisabeth  and  her  Uncle  Mitral  had 
reached  the  cafi  TMmis,  after  having  talked  all  the 
way  there  about  the  business  which  Elisabeth's  tact 
told  her  was  the  most  powerful  lever  to  force  the 
minister's  hand.  Uncle  Mitral,  the  former  sheriff's 
officer,  who  excelled  in  trickery,  in  expedients  and 
in  judicial  precautions,  believed  that  the  honor  of 
his  family  was  involved  in  the  appointment  of  his 
nephew.     His  avarice  led  him  to  sound  the  wealth  of 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  233 

Gigonnet,  for  he  knew  that,  in  order  of  succession, 
this  would  revert  to  his  nephew,  Baudoyer;  so  he 
desired  that  this  nephew  should  have  a  position  in 
keeping  with  the  fortune  which  the  Saillards  and 
Gigonnet  were  one  day  to  possess,  all  of  which 
would  be  inherited  by  Baudoyer's  little  daughter. 
To  what  heights  might  not  a  girl  aspire  were  her  for- 
tune to  consist  of  an  income  of  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  francs!  He  adopted  the  opinions  of  his 
niece  and  comprehended  them.  Thus  he  had 
accelerated  the  departure  of  Falleix  by  explaining  to 
him  the  advantage  to  be  gained  by  taking  post- 
horses.  After  which,  during  the  dinner  he  reflected 
on  the  turn  he  wished  to  give  to  the  plan  invented 
by  Elisabeth. 

On  arriving  at  the  cafe  Thhnis,  he  told  his  niece 
that  he  alone  could  arrange  the  business  with 
Gigonnet,  and  he  made  her  wait  in  the  cab,  so 
that  she  might  not  intervene  until  the  proper  time, 
and  in  the  right  place.  Through  the  window, 
Elisabeth  perceived  the  two  figures  of  Gobseck  and 
her  Uncle  Bidault  standing  out  in  bold  relief  against 
the  bright  yellow  woodwork  of  this  old  cafe,  like 
two  cameo-heads,  cold  and  impassible,  in  the  posi- 
tion chosen  by  the  engraver.  These  two  Parisian 
misers  were  surrounded  by  several  old  faces,  on 
which  thirty  per  cent  discount  seemed  written  in  the 
circular  wrinkles,  which  started  from  the  nose,  and 
turned  around  the  frigid  cheek-bones.  These  faces 
became  animated  at  the  sight  of  Mitral,  and  their 
eyes  glistened  with  tigerish  curiosity. 


234  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"Ah!  ah!  there  is  Papa  Mitral,"  said  Chaboisseau. 
This  little  old  man  discounted  for  the  book-trade. 

"  Yes,  upon  my  word,"  replied  a  paper-dealer 
named  Metivier.  "Ah!  he  is  an  old  monkey  who 
knows  how  to  make  grimaces." 

"And  you,  you  are  an  old  raven  well  versed 
about  carcasses,"  Mitral  replied. 

"  True,"  said  the  stern  Gobseck. 

"What  are  you  here  for,  my  son?  Have  you 
come  to  seize  our  friend  Metivier?"  Gigonnet  said, 
pointing  out  to  him  the  wholesale  paper-dealer,  who 
had  the  red  face  of  an  old  porter. 

"  Your  great-niece,  Elisabeth,  is  there.  Papa  Gigon- 
net," Mitral  whispered  in  his  ear. 

"What!  some  misfortune?"  said  Bidault. 

The  old  man  contracted  his  eyebrows  and  assumed 
a  tender  look,  like  that  of  an  executioner,  when  pre- 
paring to  fulfil  the  duties  of  his  office.  In  spite 
of  his  Roman  virtue,  he  must  have  been  moved,  for 
his  nose,  ordinarily  so  red,  had  lost  a  little  of  its 
color. 

"  Eh,  so!  Suppose  it  is  some  misfortune,  will  you 
not  help  Saillard's  daughter,  a  young  woman  who 
yhas  knitted  you  stockings  for  the  last  thirty  years?" 
cried  Mitral. 

"  If  there  is  security,  I  will  not  say  that  I  will  not!" 
Gigonnet  replied.  "  Falleix  is  interested  in  this 
affair.  Your  Falleix  has  established  his  brother  as  a 
stock-broker,  and  he  is  doing  as  much  business  as 
the  Brezacs, — with  what  capital?  With  his  brains,  is 
it  not  so!    At  least  Saillard  is  not  a  child." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  235 

"  He  knows  the  value  of  money,"  said  Chabois- 
seau. 

That  remark,  uttered  among  these  old  men,  as 
they  all  shook  their  heads,  would  have  made  an 
artist  shiver. 

"Well,  that  does  not  concern  me;  that  is  the 
misfortune  of  my  neighbors,"  Bidault-Gigonnet 
replied.  **  It  is  my  principle  never  to  be  too  intimate 
with  my  friends,  or  my  relations.  One  does  not 
perish  except  by  one's  weak  point.  Ask  Gobseck; 
he  is  kind." 

The  usurers  applauded  this  sentiment  by  a  move- 
ment of  their  metallic  heads.  Any  one  seeing  them 
would  have  fancied  that  he  heard  the  creaking  of 
badly  greased  machinery. 

"  Come,  Gigonnet,  show  a  little  feeling,"  said 
Chaboisseau;  "during  thirty  years  she  has  knitted 
you  stockings." 

"  Ah!  that  is  worth  considering,"  said  Gobseck. 

"You  are  alone,  I  can  speak  freely,"  said  Mitral, 
after  having  examined  those  around  him.  "  I  have 
come  on  good  business." — 

"Why  do  you  come  to  us,  if  it  is  good?"  said 
Gigonnet  harshly,  interrupting  Mitral. 

"A  Gars  who  was  gentleman  of  the  bed-cham- 
ber, an  old  Chouan, — his  name? — La  Billardi^re  is 
dead." 

"True?"  said  Gobseck. 

"  And  our  nephew  is  giving  monstrances  to  the 
churches!"  said  Gigonnet. 

"He  is  not  fool  enough  to  give  them;  he  sells 


236  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

them,"  Papa  Mitral  proudly  replied.  "  He  is  desirous 
of  obtaining  Monsieur  de  la  Billardl^re's  position,  and 
to  get  it,  it  is  necessary  to  seize." 

"Seize,  always  the  sheriff,"  said  Metivier, 
touching  Mitral  on  the  shoulder  in  a  friendly  way. 
"  I  like  that,  I  do!" 

"  To  seize  Monsieur  Chardin  des  Lupeaulx  in  our 
clutches,"  Mitral  replied.  "Now,  Elisabeth  has  found 
a  way  to  do  it,  which  is — " 

"Elisabeth!"  cried  Gigonnet,  once  more  inter- 
rupting. "  Dear  little  creature,  she  resembles  her 
grandfather,  my  poor  brother!  There  was  no  one 
like  Bidault!  Ah!  if  you  had  only  seen  him  at  the 
sales  of  old  furniture.  What  tact!  How  shrewd! — 
What  does  she  want?" 

**  Look,  look,"  said  Mitral.  **  You  have  found 
your  bowels  of  compassion  very  quickly.  Papa 
Gigonnet.  There  must  be  a  reason  for  this  phe- 
nomenon." 

"Child!"  said  Gobseck  to  Gigonnet,  "you  are 
always  too  quick." 

"  Come,  Gobseck  and  Gigonnet,  my  masters, 
you  need  des  Lupeaulx,  you  remember  having 
plucked  him.  You  are  afraid  that  he  will  demand 
some  of  his  down,"  said  Mitral. 

"Shall  we  tell  him  about  it,  Gobseck?"  asked 
Gigonnet. 

"Mitral  is  on  our  side;  he  would  not  do  a  bad 
turn  toward  his  old  customers,"  Gigonnet  replied. 
"Ah!  so,  Mitral,  we  have,  among  us  three,"  he 
whispered  to  the  old  sheriff,  "just  bought  up  all 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  237 

those  debts,  the  acknowledgment  of  which  depends 
on  the  decision  of  the  commission  of  liquidation." 

"What  can  you  lose?"  asked  Mitral. 

"Nothing,"  said  Gobseck. 

*'  It  is  not  known  that  we  are  concerned  in  this 
affair,"  added  Gigonnet;  "  Samanou  serves  as  our 
screen." 

"  Listen  to  me,  Gigonnet,"  said  Mitral.  '*  It  is  cold, 
and  your  great-niece  is  waiting.  Three  words  will 
explain  all.  It  will  be  necessary  to  send,  between 
you  two,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  francs, 
without  interest,  to  Falleix,  who  is  now  thirty  miles 
from  Paris,  going  post-haste,  with  a  courier  sent 
ahead." 

**  Is  that  possible?"  said  Gobseck. 

"Where  is  he  going?"  cried  Gigonnet. 

"To  des  Lupeaulx's  magnificent  estate,"  said 
Mitral.  "  He  is  familiar  with  the  country;  he  intends 
to  buy  the  land  surrounding  the  shanty  belonging 
to  the  secretary-general  for  the  aforesaid  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  francs,  excellent  land  which 
will  always  be  well  worth  the  price  paid  for  it.  In 
nine  days  the  legal  papers  must  be  drawn  up — do 
not  lose  sight  of  that! — .  With  this  little  addition,  the 
land  belonging  to  des  Lupeaulx  will  pay  a  thousand 
francs  taxes.  Ergo,  des  Lupeaulx  can  then  become 
elector  of  the  great  college,  eligible  for  the  Chamber, 
count,  and  everything  he  desires!  You  know  the 
deputy  who  has  ruined  himself?" 

The  two  misers  made  an  affirmative  sign. 

"  Des  Lupeaulx  would  be  willing  to  have  his  leg 


238  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

cut  off  in  order  to  become  a  deputy,"  Mitral  replied. 
**  But  he  wishes  to  have  the  contracts  we  are  about 
to  show  him  drawn  up  in  his  own  name,  and  then 
mortgage  them — as  is  well  understood — to  us  for  our 
loan,  with  subrogation  in  favor  of  the  sellers. — Ah! 
ah!  you  see  through  it? — First  of  all,  we  must  obtain 
the  position  for  Baudoyer;  after  that  is  attained  we 
will  reconsider  des  Lupeaulx!  Falleix  is  to  remain  in 
the  country  and  prepare  the  election  campaign; 
thus  you  stake  des  Lupeaulx  in  the  game  through 
Falleix  during  the  whole  time  of  the  election,  a  dis- 
trict election  where  Falleix's  friends  form  the  ma- 
jority. Is  not  Falleix  concerned  in  this  affair,  Papa 
Gigonnet?" 

"So  is  Mitral,"  said  M^tivier.  "This  game  is 
well  played." 

"It  is  decided,"  said  Gigonnet.  "Is  it  not  so, 
Gobseck?  Falleix  will  sign  vouchers  for  us  and 
make  out  the  mortgages  in  his  own  name;  we  will 
go  and  see  des  Lupeaulx  at  the  proper  time." 

"And  we,"  said  Gobseck,  "we  are  robbed." 

**Ah!  papa,"  said  Mitral,  "I  would  very  much 
like  to  know  who  the  robber  is." 

"Eh!  we  can  only  rob  ourselves,"  Gigonnet 
rejoined.  "We  thought  we  were  doing  well  by 
buying  up  the  claims  of  all  des  Lupeaulx's  creditors 
at  sixty  per  cent  discount." 

"  Place  a  mortgage  on  his  estate  and  you  will 
hold  him  still  more  by  the  interest!"  replied  Mitral. 

"Possibly,"  said  Gobseck. 

After  exchanging  a  shrewd  glance  with  Gobseck, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  239 

Bidault,  called  Gigonnet,  came  to  the  door  of  the 
cafe. 

"  Elisabeth,  continue  in  the  course  you  have 
begun,"  said  he  to  his  niece.  *'  We  have  your  man 
in  our  grasp,  but  do  not  neglect  the  accessories. 
You  have  begun  well,  shrewd  woman!  complete 
what  you  have  attempted  and  you  will  have  the 
esteem  of  your  uncle!" — 

And  he  grasped  her  gayly  by  the  hand. 

"But,"  said  Mitral,  "Metivier  and  Chaboisseau 
are  able  to  play  us  false  by  going  this  evening  to 
the  office  of  some  opposition  newspaper,  catching 
the  ball  on  its  way  and  once  more  seizing  the  min- 
isterial article.  Go  alone,  my  dear;  I  dare  not  loosen 
my  hold  on  these  two  cormorants." 

Then  he  re-entered  the  cafe. 

"  To-morrow  the  funds  will  go  to  their  destination 
by  an  order  on  the  receiver-general.  We  will  find 
at  our  friend* s  three  hundred  thousand  francs  on  his 
paper,"  said  Gigonnet  to  Mitral  when  the  sheriff 
came  to  speak  to  the  discounter. 

The  next  day,  the  numerous  subscribers  of  the 
liberal  journal,  read  in  the  news  of  Paris  an  article 
inserted  by  the  authority  of  Chaboisseau  and 
Metivier,  shareholders  in  two  journals,  discounters 
for  the  publishing,  printing  and  paper  trades,  whose 
requests  no  editor  dared  refuse. 

Here  is  the  article: 

"  Yesterday  a  ministerial  journal  plainly  Indicated  as  a  suc- 
cessor to  Baron  de  la  BlUardfere,  Monsieur  Baudoyer,  one 
of  the  worthiest  citizens  of  a  populous  quarter,  where  his 


240  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

benevolence  Is  scarcely  less  known  than  his  piety,  on  which  the 
ministerial  organ  lays  so  much  stress;  that  paper  might  have 
spoken  about  his  ability!  But  did  it  thmk  that  by  boasting 
of  the  ancient  bourgeois  family  to  which  Monsieur  Baudoyer 
belongs, — which  certainly  is  a  title  of  nobility  in  its  way  equal 
to  any  other — it  would  point  out  a  reason  for  the  probable 
exclusion  of  its  candidate?  Wanton  perfidy!  The  good  old 
lady  caresses  before  she  kills,  according  to  her  custom.  To 
appoint  Monsieur  Baudoyer  would  be  to  honor  the  virtues 
and  talents  of  the  middle-classes, — who  will  always  have  our 
support, — although  we  may  often  see  our  cause  lost.  This 
appointment  would  be  an  act  of  justice  and  good  policy,  which 
the  ministry  will  not  permit  itself  to  carry  out.  The  religious 
journal  has  just  now  more  spirit  than  its  readers;  for  they  will 
find  fault  with  it." 

The  next  morning,  Friday,  the  day  for  him  to  dine 
at  the  house  of  Madame  Rabourdin,  whom  des 
Lupeauix  had  left  at  midnight,  radiant  in  her  beauty, 
on  the  staircase  of  the  Bouffons,  arm  in  arm  with 
Madame  de  Camps — Madame  Firmiani  had  lately 
married — the  old  roue  awoke,  his  thoughts  of 
vengeance  calmed,  or  rather  refreshed;  he  was 
occupied  in  thinking  of  the  last  glance  he  had 
exchanged  with  Madame  Rabourdin. 

"  I  will  make  sure  of  Rabourdin 's  support  by 
pardoning  him  for  the  present,  but  later  I  will  take 
my  revenge.  If  he  does  not  obtain  this  position,  for 
the  moment,  I  shall  have  to  renounce  a  woman  who 
may  become  one  of  the  most  precious  instruments 
in  the  pursuit  of  high  political  fortune;  she  under- 
stands everything,  shrinks  from  nothing;  and  then, 
in  the  presence  of  the  minister,  I  must  pretend  I 
have  no  knowledge  of  the  plan  of  administration 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  241 

Rabourdin  has  invented!  Go  ahead,  dear  des 
Lupeaulx,  you  must  win  everything  for  your 
Celestine.  It  is  no  use  your  making  wry  faces, 
Madame  la  Comtesse,  you  will  invite  Madame 
Rabourdin  to  your  next  evening  given  to  intimate 
friends." 

Des  Lupeaulx  was  one  of  those  men  who,  in  order 
to  satisfy  a  passion,  are  able  to  hide  their  revenge 
in  the  corner  of  their  hearts.  Thus  his  mind  was 
made  up,  he  resolved  to  get  Rabourdin  appointed. 

**  I  will  prove  to  you,  dear  chief,  that  I  merit  a 
good  place  in  your  diplomatic  establishment,"  he 
said,  as  he  seated  himself  in  his  office  and  unfolded 
his  newspaper. 

He  knew  too  well,  by  five  o'clock,  what  the 
ministerial  journal  would  contain,  to  take  any 
pleasure  in  reading  it;  but  he  opened  it  to  look  over 
the  article  on  de  la  Billardi^re,  while  thinking  of  the 
dilemma  in  which  Du  Bruel  had  placed  him  by 
bringing  him  the  mischievous  article  written  by 
Bixiou.  He  could  not  help  laughing  while  re-reading 
the  biography  of  the  late  Comte  de  Fontaine,  who 
had  died  some  months  before,  which  Bixiou  had  re- 
printed as  the  biography  of  La  Billardi^re,  when  all 
at  once  des  Lupeaulx's  eyes  were  dazzled  by  the 
name  of  Baudoyer.  He  became  furious  as  he  read 
the  specious  article  which  pledged  the  ministry. 
He  rang  the  bell  violently  and  called  for  Dutocq, 
whom  he  sent  to  the  newspaper  office.  What  was 
his  astonishment  when  he  read  the  reply  of  the 
opposition!  for,  by  chance,  he  had  received  the 
16 


242  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

liberal  Journal  first.  Things  looked  serious.  He 
knew  this  party,  and  the  master  who  was  shufifling 
his  cards  seemed  to  him  a  thorough  Greek  in 
masterly  skill.  In  placing  it  so  cleverly  in  two 
antagonistic  newspapers  at  once, — on  the  same 
evening, — and  in  beginning  the  fight  by  guessing 
the  intention  of  the  minister,  he  thought  he  traced 
the  pen  of  a  liberal  editor  of  his  acquaintance,  and  so 
he  resolved  to  question  him  that  evening  at  the 
Opera. 

Dutocq  appeared. 

"  Read  that,"  des  Lupeaulx  said  to  him,  handing 
the  two  newspapers,  while  continuing  to  glance 
over  the  others  to  see  if  Baudoyer  had  pulled  any 
more  wires.  "  Go  and  see  who  has  dared  to  com- 
promise the  ministry  in  this  way.** 

**  It  is  certainly  not  Monsieur  Baudoyer,"  replied 
Monsieur  Dutocq,  **  for  he  did  not  leave  the  office 
yesterday.  I  need  not  go  to  the  newspaper  office, 
for  yesterday,  when  taking  your  article,  I  met  the 
abbe,  who  came  furnished  with  a  letter  from  the 
Grand  Almoner,  before  which  you  yourself  would 
have  had  to  bow." 

"  Dutocq,  you  have  a  grudge  against  Monsieur 
Rabourdin,  and  that  is  not  fair,  for  he  has  twice 
prevented  your  discharge.  But  we  cannot  control 
our  feelings.  It  is  possible  to  hate  one's  benefactor. 
Only,  know  that  if  you  allow  yourself  to  commit  the 
slightest  breach  of  faith  against  Monsieur  Rabourdin 
until  I  give  you  leave,  it  will  be  to  your  loss;  in  that 
case  you  could  count  me  as  your  enemy.     As  to 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  243 

my  friend's  journal,  let  the  Grand  Almoner  himself 
subscribe  for  as  many  copies  as  we  do,  if  he  wishes 
the  exclusive  control.  It  is  now  the  end  of  the 
year,  the  question  of  subscriptions  will  soon  be 
discussed,  and  then  we  shall  have  our  say  in  the 
matter.  As  to  La  Billardi^re's  position,  the  way  to 
settle  it  is  to  make  a  nomination  this  very  day." 

"  Gentlemen,**  said  Dutocq,  returning  to  his  ofifice 
and  addressing  his  colleagues,  **  I  do  not  know  if 
Bixiou  has  the  gift  of  reading  the  future,  but  if  you 
have  not  read  the  ministerial  journal,  I  entreat  you 
to  read  the  article  on  Baudoyer;  then,  as  Monsieur 
Fleury  takes  the  opposition  sheet,  you  can  see  the 
reply.  It  is  true  that  Monsieur  Rabourdin  has  some 
talent,  but  a  man  who,  in  the  present  time,  gives 
monstrances  worth  six  thousand  francs  to  the 
churches  is  also  possessed  of  a  devilish  amount  of 
talent!" 

BIXIOU — enterin?. 

**What  do  you  say  to  the  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  in  our  religious  journal,  and  the  Epistle 
to  the  Ministers  in  the  liberal  journal? — How  does 
Monsieur  Rabourdin  feel  now,  Du  Bruel?" 

DU  BRUEL— arrlvlne. 
"I   do   not   know. — He  leads  BIxIou  into  Ws  oince  and  whispers 

to  him. — My  friend,  your  method  of  helping  people 
resembles  that  of  the  executioner  who  places  his 
foot  on  your  shoulders  so  that  he  may  more  easily 
break  your  neck.  You  got  me  into  a  snare  with  des 
Lupeaulx,  merited  by  my  folly.  It  was  fine,  that  article 


244  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

about  Billardi^re!  I  will  not  forget  that  trick.  Tlie 
first  sentence  seemed  to  say  to  the  king:  You  must 
die.    The  sentence  about  Quiberon  clearly  signified 

that  the  king  was  a .     In  fact,  everything  was 

ironical.** 

BIXIOU — beginning  to  laugh. 

"  Stop,  you  are  getting  angry!    One  cannot  even 
pher* 

DU  BRUEL. 
**  Joke!  joke!    When  you  ask  to  be  made  deputy- 
chief,  you  will  be  replied  to  in  jokes,  my  boy.'* 

BIXIOU — in  a  threatening  tone. 

**  Are  we  angry?" 

DU  BRUEL. 
"Yes.** 

BIXIOU dryly. 

"  Very  well,  so  much  the  worse  for  you — " 

DU  BRUEL — thoughtful  and  anxious 

"Would  you  pardon  that?" 

BIXIOU — in  a  wheedling  tone. 
"  To  a  friend?      I  think  so! — Fleury's  voice  was  heard. — 

Here  comes  Fleury  who  cursed  Baudoyer.  Hey!  is 
the  game  well  played?  Baudoyer  will  gain  the 
position. —  Confidentially.  — After  all,  so  much  the  better. 
Du  Bruel,  follow  up  the  sequence  carefully.  Rabour- 
din  would  be  a  dunce  to  stay  under  Baudoyer;  he 
will  send  in  his  resignation,  and  that  will  give  us 
two  places  to  fill.  You  will  be  chief,  and  you  will 
take  me  for  head-clerk.  We  will  write  vaudevilles 
together,  and  I  shall  dig  away  at  your  work  in  the 
office.** 


THE   CIVIL  SERVICE  245 

DU  BRUEL — smiiine. 
**  Stay,  I  never  thought  of  that.     Poor  Rabourdin! 
That  would  trouble  me,  though." 

BlXiOU. 
"Ah!  that  shows  how  much  you  love  him? — 
Changing  his  tone. — Ah!  Well,  I  do  Fiot  pity  him  any 
longer.  After  all,  he  is  rich;  his  wife  gives  her  even- 
ings at  home,  and  never  invites  me,  and  I  go  every- 
where! Well,  my  good  Du  Bruel,  adieu.  Do  not 
bear  me  a  grudge! — He  leaves  the  office. — Adieu,  gentle- 
men. Did  I  not  tell  you  yesterday  that  a  man  who 
possessed  nothing  but  virtue  and  talent  would  always 
be  poor,  even  with  a  pretty  wife?** 

FLEURY. 

"You  are  very  rich,  you!** 

BIXIOU. 
"  Not  badly  off,  my  dear  Cincinnatus!    But  you 
will  treat  me  to  that  dinner  at  the  Rocher  de  Can- 

caler 

POIRET. 

"It  is  always  impossible  for  me  to  understand 
Monsieur  Bixiou.** 

PHELLION — with  a  dejected  air. 

"  Monsieur  Rabourdin  so  rarely  reads  the  papers 
that  it  might  perhaps  be  a  good  thing  to  deprive 
ourselves  of  them  temporarily  by  taking  them  to 

him.** — Fleury  bands  him  his  newspaper.  Vimeux  gives  him  the  one 
belonging  to  the  office;  be  takes  the  papers  and  departs. 


At  that  moment  des  Lupeaulx,  who  was  going 
down  stairs  on  his  way  to  breakfast  with  the  minis- 
ter, was  asking  himself  whether,  before  employing 
his  trickish  schemes  to  assist  the  husband,  prudence 
might  not  suggest  that  he  sound  the  heart  of  the 
wife,  so  as  to  know  if  he  would  be  rewarded  for  his 
devotion.  He  was  feeling  for  the  little  heart  which 
he  possessed,  when,  on  the  staircase,  he  met  his 
lawyer,  who  said  to  him,  smilingly:  "  Just  two  words, 
Monseigneur?"  in  the  familiar  tone  of  people  who 
know  that  they  are  indispensable. 

**  What  is  it,  my  dear  Desroches?"  said  the  poli- 
tician. "What  misfortune  has  happened  to  me? 
They  are  angry,  these  gentlemen,  and  do  not  know 
how  to  do  things  as  I  do:  that  is,  to  wait!" 

"  I  have  come  to  warn  you  that  all  your  notes  are 
in  the  hands  of  Sieurs  Gobseck  and  Gigonnet,  under 
the  name  of  a  Monsieur  Samanou." 

"  Men  whom  I  placed  in  the  way  of  making  im- 
mense sums!" 

"  Listen,"  the  lawyer  whispered  to  him,  **  Gigon- 
net is  called  Bidault;  he  is  the  uncle  of  Saillard,  your 
cashier,  and  Saillard  is  the  father-in-law  of  a  certain 
Baudoyer,  who  thinks  himself  entitled  to  the  vacant 
position  in  your  ministry.  Am  I  not  right  in  warning 
you?" 

(247) 


248  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

**  Thank  you,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  saluting  the 
lawyer  with  a  shrewd  glance. 

"One  stroke  of  your  pen  and  you  will  be  re- 
leased," said  Desroches,  leaving  him. 

**  What  an  immense  sacrifice!"  said  des  Lupeaulx 
to  himself.  "It  is  impossible  to  explain  it  to  a 
woman,"  he  thought.  **  Is  Celestine  worth  more 
than  the  discharge  from  all  my  debts.?  I  will  go  and 
see  her  this  morning." 

Thus  the  beautiful  Madame  Rabourdin  would,  a 
few  hours  later,  be  the  arbitrator  of  her  husband's 
future;  no  power  could  foresee  the  importance  of 
her  replies,  while  no  sign  could  warn  her  to  compose 
her  behavior  and  her  voice.  And  if,  unfortunately, 
she  believed  that  she  was  sure  of  success,  she  did 
not  know  that  Rabourdin  was  undermined  in  all 
directions  by  the  secret  labors  of  those  borers. 

"Ah!  well,  Monseigneur,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  as  he 
entered  the  little  parlor  where  breakfast  was  served, 
"have  you  read  the  articles  about  Baudoyer?" 

"For  the  love  of  God,  my  friend,"  replied  the 
minister,  "let  the  nominations  alone  for  these  few 
moments.  They  split  my  head  yesterday  with  this 
monstrance.  If  Rabourdin  is  to  be  saved,  his  ap- 
pointment must  be  brought  under  the  consideration 
of  the  Council;  otherwise  my  hand  will  be  forced. 
Such  things  make  one  disgusted  with  business.  To 
protect  Rabourdin,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  promote 
a  certain  Colleville — 

"  Will  you  allow  me  to  manage  this  vaudeville, 
and  do  not  trouble  yourself  about  it?   I  will  entertain 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  249 

you  every  morning  with  an  account  of  the  game  of 
chess  I  would  play  with  the  Grand  Almoner,"  said 
des  Lupeaulx. 

"  Very  well,"  replied  the  minister,  "settle  it  with 
the  chief  of  staff.  Do  you  know  that  nothing  is 
more  likely  to  strike  the  King's  mind  than  the  reasons 
contained  in  the  opposition  journal?  Managing  a 
minister  with  a  man  like  Baudoyer!" 

"A  devout  imbecile,"  replied  des  Lupeaulx,  "and 
as  incapable  as — " 

"  As  La  Billardi^re,"  said  the  minister. 

"  La  Billardi^re  had  at  least  the  manners  of  a 
gentleman-in-ordinary  of  the  bed-chamber,"  replied 
des  Lupeaulx.  "  Madame,"  he  continued,  address- 
ing the  countess,  "it  now  becomes  necessary  for 
you  to  invite  Madame  Rabourdin  to  your  next  se- 
lect reception.  Let  me  tell  you  that  Madame  de 
Camps  is  her  intimate  friend;  they  were  together 
yesterday  at  the  Opera,  and  I  became  acquainted 
with  her  at  the  H6tel  Firmiani.  Besides,  you  will 
see  that  she  is  not  the  kind  of  person  to  spoil  your 
evening." 

"  My  friend,  invite  Madame  Rabourdin,  and  let  us 
speak  of  something  else,"  said  the  minister. 

"  Celestine  is  now  in  my  grasp,"  said  des  Lu- 
peaulx, as  he  went  up  to  his  room  to  make  his 
morning  toilet. 

Parisian  housewives  strain  every  point  to  keep 
pace  with  the  luxury  which  surrounds  them  on  every 
side,  and  few  of  them  are  wise  enough  to  make  only 
such  show  as  their  income  will  warrant.     But  this 


250  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

vice  is  perhaps  the  result  of  a  patriotism  peculiarly 
French,  which  aims  at  preserving  for  France  its 
supremacy  in  regard  to  dress.  France  reigns  over 
all  Europe  by  means  of  her  garments;  each  member 
of  that  nation  feels  the  necessity  of  retaining  a  com- 
mercial sceptre  which  makes  fashion  to  France  what 
the  navy  is  to  England.  This  patriotic  ardor,  which 
sacrifices  everything  to  paroistre — to  appearance — 
as  d'Aubigne  said  in  the  days  of  Henry  IV.,  is  the 
cause  of  those  vast  and  concealed  efforts  which 
occupy  all  the  mornings  of  a  Parisian  woman, 
when  she  wishes,  as  Madame  Rabourdin  did,  to  keep 
up  a  style,  with  her  twelve  thousand  francs,  which 
many  rich  people  with  thirty  thousand  do  not 
attempt.  Thus,  on  Fridays — the  day  of  her  dinner 
parties — Madame  Rabourdin  assisted  the  chamber- 
maid to  arrange  the  rooms;  for  the  cook  went  early 
to  the  market  and  the  man-servant  was  busy  clean- 
ing the  silver,  folding  the  napkins,  polishing  the 
glasses.  The  ill-advised  person  who,  through  an 
oversight  of  the  porter,  should  gain  entrance  to 
Madame  Rabourdin's  house  at  eleven  or  twelve 
o'clock  would  have  found  her  in  the  midst  of  a  con- 
fusion by  no  means  picturesque,  clothed  in  her 
dressing-gown,  her  feet  encased  in  old  slippers,  her 
hair  carelessly  dressed,  arranging  the  lamps,  fixing 
the  flower-pots  with  her  own  hands,  or  hastily  cook- 
ing a  very  unromantic  breakfast.  The  visitor  to 
whom  the  mysteries  of  Parisian  life  were  unfamiliar 
would  certainly  have  learned  not  to  intrude  his 
foot  behind  the  scenes :  for  he  would  be  at  once 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  2$  I 

marked  as  a  man  capable  of  the  greatest  atrocities; 
the  woman  surprised  while  in  the  midst  of  her  morn- 
ing duties  would  speak  of  his  stupidity  and  of  his 
indiscretion  in  such  a  manner  as  to  destroy  his  pros- 
pects. 

The  Parisian  woman,  so  lenient  in  all  curiosity 
which  is  to  her  advantage,  is  implacable  in  that  by 
which  she  would  lose  her  prestige.  Is  not  such  an 
invasion  of  the  home  not  only  like  what  the  police- 
reports  call  an  attack  on  the  privacy,  but  a  burglary 
with  house-breaking,  the  theft  of  what  is  considered 
most  precious,  credit  1  A  woman  is  quite  ready  to 
be  seen  slightly  clad,  with  her  hair  falling  about  her; 
if  it  is  all  her  own,  she  gains  admiration  thereby; 
but  she  does  not  wish  to  be  seen  when  she  is  doing 
her  own  housework;  she  then  loses  her  paroistre. 
Madame  Rabourdin  was  in  the  midst  of  her  Friday's 
work,  in  the  midst  of  the  provisions  which  the  cook 
had  fished  from  the  ocean  of  the  market,  when 
Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx  made  his  way  slyly  to  her 
house. 

The  secretary-general  was,  of  all  others,  the  last 
person  the  beautiful  Madame  Rabourdin  expected 
to  see,  and  when  she  heard  the  creak  of  his  boots 
on  the  stairway,  she  cried:  "  The  hair-dresser  so 
early!"  an  exclamation  which  was  as  disagree- 
able for  des  Lupeaulx  to  hear  as  the  sight  of  des 
Lupeaulx  was  to  her.  She  retreated  hastily  into  her 
bedroom,  which  was  crowded  with  an  alarming 
confusion  of  pieces  of  furniture  which  were  to  be  put 
out  of  sight,  heterogeneous  things  in  matters  of 


252  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE. 

elegance,  a  true  domestic  Mardi  Gras.  Des  Lupeaulx 
had  the  effrontery  to  follow  the  beautiful  startled 
woman,  so  piquant  did  she  seem  to  him  in  her 
dishabille.  1  do  not  know  what  attraction  holds  the 
eye;  the  flesh,  seen  through  an  opening  in  the 
dressing-gown,  seems  a  thousand  times  more  attrac- 
tive than  when  it  rises  gracefully  above  the  circular 
line  traced  on  the  back  by  the  velvet  piping,  to  the 
vanishing  curve  of  the  most  beautiful  swan-like 
neck,  on  which  a  lover  ever  left  his  kiss,  before  the 
ball.  When  the  eye  wanders  over  a  woman  in  full 
dress,  who  displays  her  beautiful  bosom,  do  we  not 
fancy  that  we  see  the  crowning  dessert  of  a  fine 
dinner?  But  the  glance  that  penetrates  through  the 
material  rumpled  in  sleep  fastens  itself  on  these 
dainty  openings,  and  enjoys  the  luxury  as  one  feasts 
on  stolen  fruit  which  blushes  between  two  leaves  on 
the  wall. 

"Stop!  stop!"  cried  the  pretty  Parisian  woman 
while  bolting  the  door  of  her  disordered  room. 

She  rang  for  Therdse,  her  maid,  the  cook,  the 
man-servant,  begging  for  a  shawl,  wishing  for  the 
whistle  of  the  machinist  at  the  Opera.  The  whistle 
sounded,  and,  in  a  turn  of  the  hand,  another 
phenomenon!  something  else  happened!  the  cham- 
ber assumed  the  look  of  a  dainty  morning-room  in 
harmony  with  a  toilet  hurriedly  put  together,  which 
was  this  woman's  particular  gift.  She  now  rose  to 
the  occasion. 

"  You  here,  at  this  hour!"  she  said.  "  What  can 
be  the  matter?" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  253 

"The  most  serious  things  in  the  world,"  des 
Lupeaulx  replied.  **  It  is  necessary  that  we  come  to 
an  understanding  to-day." 

Celestine  looked  at  this  man  through  his  glasses 
and  understood. 

"My  chief  vice,"  she  said,  "is  that  of  being 
extremely  whimsical,  so  I  do  not  mix  my  affections 
with  politics;  let  us  talk  about  politics,  business,  and 
we  will  see  afterwards.  Besides,  it  is  not  a  whim, 
it  is  the  result  of  good  taste,  of  my  artistic  sense, 
which  keeps  me  from  combining  colors  with  those 
that  do  not  harmonize,  and  causes  me  to  avoid 
discords.     We  take  our  politics  thus,  we  women!" 

Already  the  tones  of  her  voice,  the  gentleness  of 
her  manners,  had  produced  their  effect  and  had 
changed  the  roughness  of  the  secretary-general  into 
sentimental  courtesy!  She  had  recalled  him  to  his 
obligations  as  a  lover.  A  pretty  woman  who  is 
clever  makes  an  atmosphere  about  her  in  which 
the  nerves  relax,  in  which  feelings  soften. 

"You  are  ignorant  of  what  is  taking  place," 
brusquely  replied  Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx,  who  tried 
to  appear  rude.     "  Read." 

He  then  offered  the  gracious  Madame  Rabourdin 
the  two  newspapers,  with  the  articles  marked  with 
red  ink.  As  she  read,  Celestine's  shawl  became 
unfastened  without  her  knowledge,  or  by  a  trick 
well-disguised.  At  an  age  when  the  force  of  whims 
is  in  proportion  to  the  rapidity  of  their  changes,  des 
Lupeaulx  could  not  keep  himself  cool,  any  more 
than  could  Celestine. 


254  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"  How!  but  this  is  dreadful!"  she  said.  "Who  is 
this  Baudoyer?" 

"A  donkey,"  said  des  Lupeaulx;  "but  you  see 
he  carries  the  relics,  and  will  get  there  conducted 
by  the  cunning  hand  that  holds  the  bridle." 

The  remembrance  of  Madame  Rabourdin's  debts 
passed  before  her,  and  blinded  her  as  though  she 
had  seen  two  consecutive  flashes  of  lightning;  her 
ears  tingled  under  the  pressure  of  the  blood  which 
beat  in  her  arteries;  she  remained  as  one  stupefied, 
absently  looking  at  a  curtain-hook. 

"  But  you  are  true  to  us!"  she  said  to  des  Lu- 
peaulx, in  giving  him  a  caressing  glance,  so  as  to 
attach  him  to  her. 

"  That  depends,"  he  said,  while  he  answered  her 
glance  by  an  inquisitive  look  which  made  this  poor 
woman  blush. 

"  If  you  demand  a  deposit,  you  will  lose  all  the 
price,"  she  said,  laughingly.  "  I  thought  you  a 
greater  man  than  you  are.  And,  as  for  you,  you 
think  of  me  as  very  small,  a  boarding-school  miss!" 

"You  have  not  understood  me,"  he  replied,  with 
a  shrewd  air.  "  I  would  say  that  I  could  not  assist 
a  man  who  plays  against  me,  like  TEtourdi  played 
against  Mascarille." 

"  What  does  this  mean?" 

"This  will  prove  to  you  whether  or  not  I  am 
magnanimous." 

So  he  presented  Madame  Rabourdin  with  the 
paper  stolen  by  Dutocq,  showing  her  the  part  where 
her  husband  had  so  cleverly  analyzed  him. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  255 

"Read  that!" 

Celestine  recognized  the  handwriting,  read  and 
turned  pale  under  the  blow  of  this  tomahawk. 

"All  the  ministries  are  mentioned,"  said  des 
Lupeaulx. 

"But  happily,"  said  she,  "you  alone  possess 
this  document,  which  I  am  at  a  loss  to  explain." 

"  He  who  has  stolen  it  is  not  so  silly  but  that  he 
has  had  a  copy  made;  he  is  too  great  a  liar  to  admit 
it,  and  too  wise  in  his  business  to  give  it  up.  I  even 
have  not  attempted  to  speak  of  it." 

"Who  is  he?" 

"  Your  head-clerk." 

"  Dutocq.  One  never  suffers  except  for  his  bene- 
factions!— But,"  she  replied,  "he  is  a  dog  who 
desires  a  bone." 

"  Do  you  know  what  they  offer  me,  poor  devil  of 
a  secretary -general?" 

"What?" 

"  I  owe  some  thirty  and  more  thousand  miserable 
francs;  you  will  have  a  very  bad  opinion  of  me, 
when  you  learn  that  I  do  not  owe  more;  but  in  that 
1  am  only  a  beginner!  Ah!  well,  Baudoyer's  uncle 
has  just  bought  my  debts,  and  will  doubtless  give 
me  my  titles." 

"  But  that  is  an  infernal  plan." 

"  Not  at  all,  it  is  monarchical  and  religious,  for 
the  Grand  Almonry  is  concerned  in  it — " 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"What  will  you  bid  me  do?"  said  he,  with  ador- 
able grace,  while  holding  her  hand. 


256  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Celestine  did  not  find  that  he  was  ugly,  old,  or 
with  time-frosted  hair,  secretary-general,  or  any- 
thing impure;  but  she  did  not  give  him  her  hand; 
of  an  evening  in  the  salon  she  would  have  let  him 
take  it  a  hundred  times,  but  in  the  morning,  and 
alone,  this  familiarity  constituted  a  too  positive 
promise,  which  might  lead  her  astray. 

"And  it  is  said  that  statesmen  have  no  hearts," 
she  said,  m  trying  to  disguise  the  harshness  of  her 
refusal  under  the  grace  of  her  words.  "  That  used 
to  terrify  me,"  she  added,  in  assuming  the  most 
innocent  air  in  the  world. 

"What  a  calumny!"  replied  des  Lupeaulx. 

**  One  of  the  stiffest  diplomatists,  who  has  been 
in  power  since  his  birth,  has  just  married  the  daugh- 
ter of  an  actress,  and  has  gained  her  admission  to 
the  most  rigid  court  as  to  quarterings  of  nobility.'' 

"  And  you  will  support  us?" 

**  I  will  work  for  the  appointment.  But  no  cheat- 
ing!" 

She  gave  him  her  hand  to  kiss  and  patted  him  on 
the  cheek. 

"You  are  mine,"  she  said. 

Des  Lupeaulx  admired  that  expression. — That 
evening  at  the  Opera  the  fop  related  it  after  this 
fashion:  "  A  woman,  not  wishing  to  tell  a  man  she 
was  his,  an  acknowledgment  that  a  well-bred  woman 
never  makes,  said  to  him:  *  You  are  mine!  How  do 
you  like  the  turn  for  a  change?'  " 

"But  you  must  be  my  ally,"  he  replied.  "Your 
husband  has  spoken  to  the  minister  about  a  plan  of 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  2^7 

government  in  which  is  to  be  found  the  article  in 
which  I  am  criticised;  learn  all  about  it,  and  tell  me 
this  evening." 

"That  shall  be  done,"  she  said,  without  seeing 
the  great  importance  of  the  business  which  caused 
des  Lupeaulx  to  visit  her  so  early  in  the  morning. 

"Madame,  the  hair-dresser,"  said  the  maid. 

"We  have  had  to  wait  for  him  some  time.  I  do 
not  know  what  I  would  have  done  had  he  remained 
longer,"  thought  Celestine. 

"You  do  not  know  to  what  lengths  my  devotion 
will  go,"  des  Lupeaulx  said,  as  he  arose.  "You 
are  to  be  invited  to  the  next  exclusive  soiree  at  the 
house  of  the  minister's  wife — " 

"  Ah!  you  are  an  angel,"  she  said.  "  And  I  now 
see  how  much  you  love  me;  you  love  me  intelli- 
gently." 

"This  evening,  dear  child,"  he  replied,  "I  will 
find  out  at  the  Opera  which  journalists  are  conspiring 
for  Baudoyer,  and  we  will  compare  our  notes." 

"  Yes,  but  you  are  to  dine  with  us,  are  you  not? 
1  have  tried  to  have  the  dishes  you  most  like." 

"  All  that,  however,  seems  so  like  love,  that  it 
would  seem  sweet  to  be  thus  deceived  for  a  long 
time!"  said  des  Lupeaulx  to  himself,  as  he  descended 
the  stairs.  "  But  if  she  is  trifling  with  me,  I  shall 
know  it.  I  will  prepare  the  cleverest  of  all  traps, 
before  the  appointment  is  signed,  so  that  I  may  read 
in  her  heart.  My  little  kittens,  we  know  you!  for, 
after  all,  women  are  just  what  we  men  are!  Twenty- 
eight  years  and  virtuous,  and  here  in  Rue  Duphot! 
17 


258  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

A  very  rare  good  fortune,  and  one  worthy  of  cultiva- 
tion." 

The  eligible  butterfly  then  skipped  down  the  stairs. 

"  Mon  Dieu,  that  man — without  his  glasses  and 
powdered  hair — must  make  a  very  ridiculous  appear- 
ance in  his  dressing-gown!"  said  Celestine  to  her- 
self. **  He  has  a  harpoon  in  his  back,  and  will  tow 
me  at  length  where  I  wish  to  go: — ^to  the  minister's 
house.     He  has  played  his  part  in  my  comedy." 

When,  at  five  o'clock,  Rabourdin  came  home  to 
dress,  his  wife  helped  him  to  make  his  toilet,  and  told 
him  about  this  memorandum,  which,  like  the  slipper 
in  the  tale  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  the  poor  man  was 
obliged  to  see  wherever  he  went. 

**  Who  gave  it  to  you?"  said  Rabourdin,  stupefied. 

"Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx." 

"He  has  been  here?"  asked  Rabourdin,  as  he 
gave  his  wife  a  look  which  would  have  made  a 
guilty  woman  turn  pale,  but  which  met  a  brow  of 
marble  and  a  laughing  eye. 

"And  he  will  return  to  dine  with  us,"  she  an- 
swered.    "  Why  this  startled  expression?" 

"My  dear,"  said  Rabourdin,  "I  have  mortally 
offended  des  Lupeaulx.  Such  people  never  pardon, 
and  still  he  courts  my  favor!  Do  you  think  I  cannot 
see  the  reason  for  this?" 

"  This  man,"  she  answered,  "  seems  to  me  to 
have  very  good  taste;  I  cannot  blame  him  for 
that.  Besides,  I  can  think  of  nothing  more  flattering 
to  a  woman  than  to  reawaken  a  lost  appetite. 
After—" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  259 

"Enough  nonsense,  Celestine!  Spare  a  down- 
trodden man.  I  am  unable  to  meet  the  minister, 
and  my  honor  is  at  stake." 

"  Heavens!  no.  Dutocq  shall  be  promised  a  posi- 
tion, and  you  will  be  chief  of  division." 

"I  guess  what  you  mean,  dear  child,"  said 
Rabourdin;  "but  the  rSle  which  you  play  is  as  dis- 
honorable as  the  reality.  A  lie  is  a  lie,  and  a  true 
woman — " 

**  Allow  me,  then,  to  employ  the  same  weapons 
which  are  used  against  us." 

**  Celestine,  the  more  this  man  sees  that  he  is 
caught  in  a  snare,  the  more  he  will  be  against  me." 

**  And  if  I  can  thwart  his  plans?" 

Rabourdin  regarded  his  wife  with  astonishment. 

"  I  am  thinking  only  of  your  advancement,  and  it 
is  high  time,  my  poor  friend!"  replied  Celestine. — 
"  But  you  mistake  the  hunting-dog  for  the  game," 
she  said,  after  a  pause.  "  In  a  few  days  des 
Lupeaulx  can  readily  accomplish  his  mission.  While 
you  are  seeking  to  speak  to  the  minister,  and  before 
you  can  see  him,  I  shall  have  spoken  with  him. 
You  have  strained  every  nerve  to  give  birth  to  a 
plan  which  you  have  hidden  from  me;  and,  in  three 
months  from  now,  your  wife  will  have  done  more 
work  than  you  have  accomplished  in  six  years. 
Tell  me  your  beautiful  plan!" 

Rabourdin  continued  shaving,  and,  after  having 
made  his  wife  promise  not  to  tell  a  single  word  about 
his  work,  and  warning  her  that  to  confide  even  one 
idea  to  des  Lupeaulx  would  be  to  put  the  cat  within 


26o  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

reach  of  the  bowl  of  milk,  commenced  an  explana- 
tion of  his  work. 

"  Rabourdin,  why  have  you  not  already  told  me 
this?"  said  Celestine,  stopping  her  husband  as  he 
finished  his  fifth  sentence.  '*  You  would  have  saved 
yourself  useless  trouble.  I  know  how  blinded  one 
can  become  by  one  idea  for  a  moment,  but  for  six 
or  seven  years,  that  seems  incredible.  You  want  to 
reduce  the  budget — a  common  and  middle-class 
idea!  We  ought  to  have  a  budget  of  two  thousand 
millions,  then  France  would  be  twice  as  great.  A 
new  system  might  be  brought  about  by  setting 
everything  moving  by  loans,  like  Monsieur  Nucingen 
proposes.  The  poorest  treasury  is  that  with  a 
surplus  which  it  never  utilizes.  The  mission  of  a 
minister  of  finance  is  to  fling  money  out  of  the 
windows,  it  will  return  to  him  through  the  cellars; 
and  you  would  make  him  hoard  the  public  money! 
But  it  is  necessary  that  the  number  of  officials 
should  be  increased,  not  reduced.  Instead  of  re- 
deeming the  debts,  it  would  be  preferable  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  bondholders.  If  the  Bour- 
bons would  reign  in  peace,  they  ought  to  create 
bondholders  in  the  smallest  boroughs,  and,  above 
all,  not  allow  foreigners  to  receive  interest  in  France 
of  which  they  would  some  day  surely  require  the 
principal,  while  if  all  state  funds  are  held  in  France, 
neither  France  nor  her  credit  will  perish.  That  is 
the  way  England  was  saved.  Your  plan  is  like 
that  of  a  little  middle-class  man.  An  ambitious 
man  would  not  have  dared  to  present  himself  before 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  361 

the  minister  except  as  a  Law,  without  his  risky 
schemes;  by  stating  the  power  of  credit,  by  showing 
that  we  should  not  diminish  our  capital,  but  reduce 
the  interest,  just  as  the  English  do!" 

"  Go  ahead,  Celestine,"  said  Rabourdin,  "jumble 
up  everything,  turn  everything  wrong-side  out; 
amuse  yourself  as  with  a  toy!  I  am  accustomed  to 
that.  But  do  not  criticise  a  work  of  which  you 
are  yet  ignorant." 

" Do  I  need,"  she  said,  "to  know  a  scheme, the 
essence  of  which  is  to  govern  France  with  six 
thousand  instead  of  twenty  thousand  officials?  But, 
my  friend,  were  this  even  a  scheme  of  a  man  of 
genius,  a  king  of  France  would  be  dethroned  in 
trying  to  execute  it.  A  feudal  aristocracy  can  be 
subdued  by  striking  off  a  few  heads,  but  a  hydra 
with  a  thousand  heads  cannot  be  subdued.  No,  the 
little  ones  cannot  be  crushed,  they  are  too  flat 
under  foot.  So  it  is  with  the  present  ministers, — 
between  ourselves,  a  poor  lot, — that  you  propose  in 
this  way  to  reform  mankind!  Reform  interests,  if 
you  will,  but  mankind  cannot  be  reformed.  People 
cry  out  too  much;  while  gold  is  dumb." 

"  But,  Celestine,  if  you  will  always  talk,  and  if 
you  place  wit  before  argument,  we  will  never  under- 
stand each  other — " 

"Ah!  I  understand  what  that  paper,  in  which  you 
have  analyzed  the  capacities  of  the  administrators, 
will  lead  to,"  she  replied,  without  even  having 
listened  to  her  husband.  "  Mon  Dieu,  you  yourself 
have  sharpened  the  hatchet  to  cut  off  your  own 


262  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

head.  Holy  Virgin!  Why  did  you  not  consult  me? 
I  would  have  prevented  you  from  writing  a  single 
line;  or,  at  least,  if  you  would  have  written  this 
memorandum,  I  would  have  copied  it  for  you  myself, 
and  then  it  could  never  have  gone  further.  My 
God,  why  did  you  not  tell  me?  Such  are  men! 
They  are  capable  of  sleeping  by  the  side  of  their 
wives  and  guarding  a  secret  from  them  for  seven 
years!  To  hide  his  thoughts  from  a  poor  woman  for 
seven  years  is  to  doubt  her  devotion!" 

**  But,"  said  Rabourdin,  *'  for  eleven  years  I  have 
not  been  able  to  argue  with  you  because  you  always 
cut  my  words  short  and  substitute  your  ideas  for 
mine. — You  know  nothing  about  my  scheme." 

"Nothing?  I  know  everything." 

"Tell  it  to  me,  then!"  cried  Rabourdin,  angry  for 
the  first  time  since  his  marriage. 

**  There,  it  is  half-past  six;  shave  yourself,  dress," 
she  replied,  after  the  manner  of  all  women  when 
pressed  on  a  point  upon  which  they  should  keep 
silence.  •*  I  am  going  to  finish  dressing,  and  we 
will  adjourn  the  discussion,  for  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
annoyed  on  my  reception  day.— Good  heavens! 
the  poor  man!"  she  said,  as  she  left,  "to  labor  for 
seven  years  only  to  give  birth  to  a  scheme  for  his 
own  destruction,  and  not  to  have  trusted  his  wife." 
She  re-entered. 

"  If  you  had  listened  to  me  in  time,  you  would 
not  have  interceded  to  keep  your  head  clerk,  and  he, 
without  doubt,  has  a  fac-simile  of  this  document 
which  he  has  stolen!    Adieu,  man  of  genius!" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  263 

Seeing  her  husband  in  a  tragic  attitude  of  grief, 
she  found  that  she  had  gone  too  far;  she  ran  toward 
him,  and  seized  him,  ail  lathered,  and  embraced  him 
tenderly. 

"Dear  Xavier,  do  not  be  angry  with  me,"  she 
said.  "  This  evening  we  will  study  your  plan 
together,  and  then  you  can  speak  at  your  ease.  I 
will  listen  as  attentively  and  as  long  as  you  wish  me 
to.  Is  not  that  amiable.?  Go,  I  do  not  ask  for  a 
better  fate  than  to  be  the  wife  of  Mahomet." 

She  began  to  laugh  and  Rabourdin  could  not  help 
laughing  also,  for  the  white  lather  was  clinging  to 
Celestine's  lips,  and  the  tone  of  her  voice  indicated 
the  depth  of  the  purest  and  stanchest  affection. 

"  Go,  get  dressed  my  child,  and  be  especially 
careful  to  say  nothing  about  it  to  des  Lupeaulx, 
promise  me!  That  is  the  only  penance  I  impose  on 
you." 

'*  Impose?'*  shesaid;  "then  I  will  promise  nothing." 

"Come,  Celestine,  I  said  a  serious  thing  jestingly." 

"  This  evening,"  she  answered,  "  your  secretary- 
general  will  find  out  whom  we  have  to  combat,  and  I 
know  whom  to  attack." 

"Whom?"  said  Rabourdin. 

"  The  minister,"  she  answered,  at  the  same  time 
drawing  herself  up  proudly. 

Notwithstanding  the  loving  grace  of  his  dear 
Celestine,  Rabourdin,  while  dressing,  could  not  keep 
some  sad  thoughts  from  clouding  his  brow. 

"When  will  she  be  capable  of  appreciating  me?" 
he  said  to  himself.     "  She  will  not  even  understand 


264  ™^  ^'^^  SERVICE 

that  it  is  for  her  alone  that  I  have  undertaken  this 
work!  What  a  wrong-headed  woman,  and  yet  what 
intelligence  she  has.  If  I  had  not  married,  I  would 
by  this  time  have  been  high  in  ofifice  and  rich!  I 
would  have  saved  five  thousand  francs  a  year  of  my 
salary.  By  investing  this  amount  well,  I  would 
have  by  this  time  possessed  ten  thousand  francs 
income  besides  my  salary.  I  would  have  been  a 
bachelor  and  have  had  a  chance  of  becoming,  by 
marriage — .  Yes,"  he  replied,  interrupting  his  own 
thoughts,  "but  I  have  Celestine  and  my  two 
children." 

He  took  refuge  in  his  happiness.  In  the  happiest 
household  there  will  always  be  moments  of  regret. 
He  entered  the  parlor  and  looked  at  the  room. 

"  In  all  Paris  there  cannot  be  found  two  women 
who  understand  how  to  manage  a  household  as  she 
does.  With  only  twelve  thousand  francs  income, 
and  to  accomplish  all  this!"  he  said,  as  he  looked  at 
his  jardinieres  full  of  flowers,  and  thought  of  the 
homage  which  the  world  was  about  to  pay  him. 
*'  She  was  born  to  be  the  wife  of  a  minister  of  state. 
When  I  think  how  the  wife  of  His  Excellency  is  of 
no  assistance  to  him;  she  looks  like  a  good,  fat, 
middle-class  woman,  and  when  she  goes  to  the 
chateau,  or  into  the  salons — " 

He  bit  his  lips.  Men  who  are  very  busy  have 
such  false  ideas  about  housekeeping,  that  it  is  just  as 
easy  to  make  them  believe  that  a  hundred  thousand 
francs  amount  to  nothing  as  that  twelve  thousand 
francs  are  sufficient  to  meet  every  expense. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  265 

Although  impatiently  expected,  notwithstanding 
the  favorite  dishes  prepared  for  his  palate,  the  con- 
summate gourmand,  des  Lupeaulx,  did  not  come  to 
dinner;  he  only  arrived  very  late  in  the  evening, 
at  midnight, — an  hour  when  conversation  in  every 
drawing-room  becomes  more  intimate  and  confi- 
dential. 
Andoche  Finot,  the  journalist,  still  remained, 
"I  know  everything,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  when 
he  was  comfortably  seated  on  the  sofa  by  the  corner 
of  the  fire,  his  cup  of  tea  in  his  hand.  Madame 
Rabourdin  stood  before  him,  holding  a  plate  full  of 
sandwiches  and  some  slices  of  cake  very  appropri- 
ately called  plum-cake.  "Finot,  my  d^ar  and 
clever  friend,  you  can  render  a  service  to  our 
gracious  queen  by  letting  loose  a  few  dogs  on  the 
men  about  whom  we  will  speak.  You  have  against 
you,"  he  said  to  Rabourdin — while  lowering  his 
voice  so  as  only  to  be  heard  by  the  three  people  to 
whom  he  spoke — "  usurers,  the  clergy,  money  and 
the  church.  The  article  in  the  liberal  journal  was 
written  at  the  request  of  an  old  money-lender  to 
whom  the  paper  was  under  obligations,  but  the 
young  fellow  who  wrote  it  cares  nothing  about  it. 
The  editor-in-chief  of  this  journal  will  be  changed 
in  three  days  and  we  shall  gain  the  upper  hand. 
The  royalist  opposition,  for  we  have — thanks  to 
Monsieur  de  Chateaubriand — a  royalist  opposition, 
that  is  to  say,  there  are  some  royalists  who  have 
gone  over  to  the  liberals;  but  let  us  not  discuss 
great  political  questions;  these  assassins  of  Charles  X. 


266  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

have  promised  me  their  support  in  fixing,  as  the 
price  of  your  nomination,  our  support  to  one  of  their 
amendments.  All  my  batteries  are  arranged.  If 
they  insist  upon  imposing  Baudoyer  on  us,  we  will 
be  able  to  say  to  the  Grand  Almonry,  *  such  and  such 
a  journal  and  sttch  and  stick  gentlemen  will  attack  any 
law  you  wish,  and  the  entire  press  will  be  opposed 
— for  the  ministerial  journals  which  I  influence 
will  be  deaf  and  dumb;  they  need  not  trouble  to 
become  so,  they  are  sufficiently  so.'  Is  that  not  so, 
Finot?  *  Appoint  Rabourdin  and  public  opinion  will 
be  with  you.*  Poor,  artless,  provincial  people  who 
sit  in  state  in  their  arm-chairs  by  the  chimney- 
corner,  feeling  very  happy,  and  very  independent 
as  to  the  mouth-piece  of  public  opinion.     Ah!  ah!" 

"  Hi!  hi!  hi!"  laughed  Finot. 

"So,  keep  quiet,"  said  des  Lupeaulx.  "I  have 
arranged  everything  this  evening.  The  Grand 
Almonry  will  yield." 

"  I  would  rather  have  lost  all  hope  and  have  had 
you  at  dinner,"  whispered  Celestine  to  him,  while 
looking  at  him  with  a  grieved  air  which  might  have 
passed  for  an  expression  of  extravagant  love. 

"  Here  is  something  that  will  obtain  my  pardon," 
he  said,  as  he  showed  her  an  invitation  for  Tues- 
day's select  reception. 

Celestine  opened  the  letter,  and  a  flush  of  pleasure 
suffused  her  face.  No  pleasure  can  compare  with 
that  of  gratified  vanity. 

"You  know  what  the  Tuesday  evening  will  be," 
continued  des  Lupeaulx,  assuming  a  mysterious  air; 


THE  aVIL  SERVICE  267 

**  it  bears  the  same  relation  to  our  ministry  as  the 
Petit-chateau  does  to  the  court.  You  will  be  in  the 
heart  of  power!  The  Countess  Feraud  will  be  there; 
she  is  always  in  favor,  notwithstanding  the  death  of 
Louis  XVIII.;  Delphine  de  Nucingen,  Madame  de  Lis- 
tom^re,  the  Marquise  d'Espard,  your  dear  de  Camps, 
for  whom  I  have  procured  an  invitation,  so  that  you 
might  find  a  support  in  case  the  women  there  should 
blackball  you.  I  wish  to  see  you  in  the  midst  of 
that  set." 

Celestine  threw  back  her  head  like  a  thorough- 
bred before  the  race,  and  re-read  the  invitation,  just 
as  Baudoyer  and  Saillard  had  re-read  their  articles  in 
the  newspapers,  without  growing  weary  of  it. 

"There  first;  and  some  day  to  the  Tuileries,"  she 
said  to  des  Lupeaulx. 

Des  Lupeaulx  was  startled  by  her  words  and  her 
attitude,  because  they  expressed  such  great  ambition 
and  security. 

"Am  I  but  a  stepping-stone?"  he  said. 

He  rose  and  went  into  Madame  Rabourdin's  bed- 
room, where  she  followed  him,  for  she  understood 
by  the  gesture  of  the  secretary-general  that  he 
wished  to  speak  with  her  privately. 

"Well,  tell  me  the  scheme?"  he  said. 

"  Bah!  The  foolish  dreamings  of  an  honest  man! 
He  wants  to  suppress  fifteen  thousand  officials,  and 
retain  only  five  or  six  thousand;  you  never  heard  of 
such  an  absurdity.  I  will  let  you  read  his  document 
when  the  copy  is  finished.  It  is  written  in  good 
faith.    His  analytic  list  of  the  officials  was  dictated 


268  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

only  by  the  most  commendable  thoughts.     Poor, 
dear  man!" 

Des  Lupeaulx  was  all  the  more  reassured  by  the 
genuine  laugh  which  accompanied  these  jestings 
and  contemptuous  words,  especially  as  he  was  a 
judge  of  lying,  and  at  this  moment  Celestine  was 
sincere. 

**But  still,  what  is  at  the  bottom  of  it  all?"  he 
asked. 

"Ah!  well,  he  would  suppress  the  land-tax  and 
substitute  taxes  on  commodities." 

"  But  it  is  over  a  year  ago  that  Francois  Keller 
and  Nucingen  proposed  a  plan  somewhat  like  this, 
and  the  ministry  is  considering  about  lessening  the 
land-tax." 

"  There!  I  told  him  that  his  plan  was  not  a  new 
one!"  said  Celestine,  laughing. 

**Yes,  but  he  has  come  into  collision  with  the  great 
financier  of  the  age,  a  man  who,  I  say  it  between 
ourselves,  is  the  Napoleon  of  finance;  he  ought  at 
least  to  have  some  ideas  as  to  how  his  plan  should 
be  executed." 

**  It  is  all  commonplace,"  she  said,  with  a  disdain- 
ful expression  on  her  lips.  "Imagine  governing 
France  with  five  or  six  thousand  officials;  while,  on 
the  contrary,  there  ought  not  to  be  one  person  in 
France  who  is  not  interested  in  maintaining  the 
monarchy." 

Des  Lupeaulx  appeared  to  be  satisfied  that  he 
had  found  that  the  man  to  whom  he  attributed 
superior  talents  was  only  of  mediocre  ability. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  269 

"  Are  you  very  sure  of  the  nomination  ?  Will  you 
take  a  woman's  advice?"  she  said  to  him. 

"  You  are  more  skilled  than  we  in  refined 
treachery,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  shaking  his  head. 

"  Ah!  well,  speak  for  Baudqyer  to  the  court  and 
to  the  Grand  Almonry,  so  as  to  avert  all  suspicion 
and  put  them  off  their  guard;  but  at  the  last  moment 
write:  Rabourdin.*' 

"  There  are  some  women  who  say  ^«  when  they 
need  a  man,  and  no  when  he  has  played  his  part," 
replied  des  Lupeaulx. 

**  I  know  it,"  she  said,  laughing.  "  But  they  are 
very  foolish,  for  in  politics,  one  always  regains  one's 
position;  that  is  good  tactics  with  simpletons,  but 
you  area  clever  man.  According  to  my  opinion,  the 
greatest  fault  one  can  commit  in  life  is  to  quarrel 
with  a  clever  man." 

"No,"  said  des  Lupeaulx;  "  for  he  will  pardon. 
There  is  no  danger  except  with  little,  spiteful  natures 
who  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  revenge  themselves, 
and  I  pass  my  life  at  that." 

After  everyone  had  left,  Rabourdin  came  into  his 
wife's  room,  and,  after  having  for  once  exacted  her 
attention,  he  explained  his  plan,  in  making  her 
understand  that  it  did  not  restrict,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  that  it  increased  the  budget,  by  showing 
her  in  what  way  the  public  funds  were  to  be 
employed,  in  explaining  to  her  how  the  state  would 
increase  ten-fold  the  circulation  of  money,  by  putting 
its  own  in  the  proportion  of  a  third  or  a  fourth  into 
the  expenditures  which  would    be  sustained    by 


270  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

private  or  local  interests.  Thus  he  finally  proved  to 
her  that  his  plan  was  less  a  theoretical  work  than  a 
work  fertile  in  methods  of  execution.  Celestine 
was  very  enthusiastic;  she  threw  her  arms  around 
her  husband's  neck  and  sat  herself  on  his  knee  by 
the  chimney-corner. 

"Thus  I  find  in  you  my  ideal  husband,"  she 
said.  "The  ignorance  in  which  I  have  been  in  regard 
to  your  worth  has  saved  you  from  des  Lupeaulx's 
claws.  I  calumniated  you  to  him  wonderfully  and 
in  good  faith." 

This  man  wept  with  joy.  He  now  had  his  day 
of  triumph.  After  having  undertaken  everything  to 
please  his  wife,  he  had  become  great  in  his  own 
household! 

"And  to  one  who  knows  you  to  be  so  good,  so 
gentle,  of  such  an  even  disposition,  so  loving,  you 
are  ten  times  greater.  But,"  she  added,  "a  man 
of  genius  is  always  more  or  less  a  child,  and  you  are 
a  child,  a  much  loved  child."  She  drew  forth  her 
invitation  from  that  secret  hiding-place  which  women 
adopt  and  showed  it  to  him. 

"  Here  is  what  I  want,"  she  said.  "  Des  Lupeaulx 
has  gained  me  admittance  to  the  ministry,  and,  were 
he  of  bronze,  His  Excellency  shall  for  a  time  be  my 
servant." 


The  next  day  Celestine  was  occupied  with  her 
preparations  for  attending  the  minister's  select 
reception.  It  was  her  great  day,  her  own!  Never 
courtesan  took  so  much  care  of  herself  as  this  good 
woman  took  of  her  person.  Never  was  a  dress- 
maker more  tormented  than  hers,  and  never  did  a 
dressmaker  realize  more  the  importance  of  her  art. 
At  last,  Madame  Rabourdin  had  everything  ready. 
She  herself  went  to  the  livery-stable  to  choose  a 
coupe  which  was  neither  old,  middle-class,  nor 
showy.  Her  servant,  as  is  the  case  with  servants 
of  well-ordered  houses,  had  the  dress  and  appearance 
of  a  master.  Then,  toward  ten  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  that  eventful  Tuesday,  she  left  home  in  a 
charming  mourning  costume.  Her  hair  was  dressed 
with  bunches  of  jet  grapes  most  beautifully  made, 
an  ornament  costing  three  thousand  francs,  which 
had  been  ordered  at  Fossin's  establishment  by  an 
Englishwoman,  who  left  without  calling  for  it.  The 
leaves  were  of  stamped  iron-work,  as  light  as  real 
vine  leaves,  and  the  artist  had  not  forgotten  the 
graceful  tendrils,  which  were  intended  to  twine  in 
her  curls,  just  as  the  natural  ones  catch  on  every 
branch.  Her  bracelets,  her  necklace  and  ear-rings 
were  of  what  is  called  Berlin  iron-work;  but  these 
delicate  arabesques  came  from  Vienna,  and  seemed 
as  though  made  expressly  by  those  fairies  who,  in 
C271) 


272  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Stories,  are  condemned  by  a  jealous  Carabosse  to 
collect  the  eyes  of  ants,  or  to  weave  the  pieces  of 
linen  so  fine  that  they  can  be  placed  in  a  nutshell. 
Her  figure — made  more  slender  by  her  black  dress — 
was  shown  to  advantage  by  a  carefully-cut  dress 
which  terminated  at  the  shoulder  in  a  curve  without 
shoulder-pieces.  At  each  movement  it  seemed  that 
the  woman,  like  a  butterfly,  was  about  to  leave  her 
envelope;  nevertheless,  the  gown  was  held  on  by  an 
ingenious  invention  of  the  dressmaker.  The  dress 
was  of  mousseline  de  laine,  a  material  which  the 
manufacturer  had  not  as  yet  sent  to  the  Paris 
markets,  a  divine  material  which  was  destined  to 
become  extremely  fashionable.  This  success  went 
further  than  the  French  fashions  themselves.  The 
real  economy  of  the  mousseline  de  laine,  which 
does  not  require  laundering,  caused  it  to  take  the 
place  of  cotton  fabrics  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
ruin  the  factory  at  Rouen.  Celestine's  feet,  clad  in 
stockings  of  fine  mesh  and  Turkish  satin  slippers, 
— for,  in  deep  mourning,  silk  satin  is  not  permitted, 
— were  elegantly  shaped.  Celestine,  thus  attired, 
looked  very  beautiful.  Her  complexion,  freshened 
by  a  bran  bath,  had  a  soft  brilliancy.  Her  eyes, 
bathed  by  the  waves  of  hope,  shining  with  anima- 
tion, justified  her  claims  to  the  superiority  of  which 
the  happy  and  proud  des  Lupeaulx  had  spoken.  She 
entered  the  room  well;  women  know  how  to  appre- 
ciate the  meaning  of  this  expression.  She  grace- 
fully saluted  the  minister's  wife,  combining  the 
deference  due  to  her  with  the  maintenance  of  her 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  273 

own  self-respect,  and  thus  gave  no  offence,  while  she 
retained  her  own  dignity,  for  every  beautiful  woman 
is  a  queen.  Thus,  with  the  minister  she  assumed 
that  pretty  air  of  impertinence  which  women  permit 
themselves  with  men,  even  if  they  chance  to  be 
Grand  Dukes.  She  examined  the  field  while  taking 
her  seat,  and  realized  that  she  was  now  in  one  of 
those  select  assemblages,  few  in  number,  where 
women  could  observe  each  other,  appreciate  each 
other,  where  the  least  word  could  be  heard  by  all, 
where  each  glance  could  take  effect,  where  conver- 
sation is  a  duel  with  witnesses,  where  all  that  is 
mediocre  seems  more  ordinary,  but  where  every 
merit  is  silently  accepted,  as  though  it  were  the 
natural  level  of  each  person.  Rabourdin  had  gone 
into  an  adjoining  room,  where  cards  were  being 
played,  and  there  he  stood  conspicuously,  so  as  to 
make  himself  noticed,  which  proves  that  he  did  not 
lack  cleverness. 

"My  dear,"  said  the  Marquise  d'Espard  to  the 
Countess  Feraud, — the  last  of  the  mistresses  of 
Louis  XVIII. — "  Paris  is  unique!  It  produces,  unex- 
pectedly, and  from  no  one  knows  where,  women 
like  this  one,  who  seem  to  be  able  to  carry  every- 
thing before  them." — 

"  But  she  really  accomplishes  all  that  she  wills  to 
do,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  with  an  air  of  importance. 

At  this  moment  the  subtle  Madame  Rabourdin  was 

paying  court  to  the  minister's  wife.     Following  the 

instructions  which  she  had  received  the  previous 

evening  from  des  Lupeaulx,  who  knew  the  weak 

18 


274  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

points  of  the  countess;  she  was  flattering  her  with- 
out seeming  to  do  so.  Then  she  remained  silent  at 
the  proper  moment,  for  des  Lupeaulx — even  as  much 
in  love  with  this  woman  as  he  was — knew  her 
faults,  and  had  said  to  her  the  previous  night:  "Above 
everything,  avoid  talking  too  much!"  A  great  proof 
of  his  love.  Bertrand  Barr^re  left  this  sublime 
maxim:  "  Never  interrupt  a  woman,  while  dancing,  to 
give  her  advice;"  to  which  this  may  be  added: 
"Never  blame  a  woman  for  strewing  her  pearls!" 
completing  thus  this  chapter  on  the  female  code. 
Conversation  became  general.  From  time  to  time 
Madame  Rabourdin  joined  in  it  just  as  a  tame  cat 
places  her  paws  on  her  mistress's  laces  with  velvety 
touch,  her  claws  concealed.  As  to  his  heart,  the 
minister  had  few  emotions.  There  was  not  a 
statesman  under  the  Restoration  who  was  less 
inclined  to  gallantry  than  he;  and  even  the  opposi- 
tion papers,  the  Miroir,  Pandore,  and  Figaro,  could 
not  find  the  least  flutter  of  the  heart  with  which  to 
reproach  him .  His  mistress  was  I'Etoile,  and,  strange 
to  say,  she  remained  faithful  to  him  in  misfortune, 
which  will,  without  doubt,  be  ultimately  to  her  gain. 
Madame  Rabourdin  knew  this;  but  she  also  knew 
that  ghosts  return  to  old  castles.  She  therefore  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  making  the  minister  jealous  of  the 
good  fortune,  still  conditional,  which  des  Lupeaulx 
appeared  to  enjoy.  At  this  moment  des  Lupeaulx 
was  refreshing  himself  with  the  name  of  Celestine. 
In  order  to  launch  his  intended  mistress,  he  used 
every  exertion  to  persuade  the  Marquise  d'Espard, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  275 

Madame  Nucingen  and  the  countess — in  a  coterie  of 
four — tiiat  tiiey  ought  to  admit  Madame  Rabourdin 
into  their  set,  and  Madame  de  Camps  agreed  with 
him.  At  the  end  of  an  hour  the  minister  had  become 
duly  impressed;  Madame  Rabourdin's  cleverness 
pleased  him;  she  had  already  won  over  his  wife,  who, 
quite  enchanted  with  the  siren,  had  just  invited  her 
to  come  whenever  she  wished. 

"For,  my  dear,"  said  the  minister's  wife  to 
Celestine,  "your  husband  will  soon  be  director;  the 
minister  intends  uniting  the  two  divisions  and 
placing  them  under  one  director;  you  will  then  be 
one  of  us." 

His  Excellency  gave  Madame  Rabourdin  his  arm 
and  escorted  her  out  of  the  room  to  show  her  a  room 
of  his  apartments  which  had  become  famous  on 
account  of  the  supposed  luxury  which  the  opposition 
papers  had  reproached  him  with  lavishing  on  it,  and 
to  demonstrate  the  absurdities  of  journalism. 

"  Truly,  Madame,  you  must  give  us,  the  countess 
and  myself,  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  here  often — " 

And  he  tendered  to  her  many  compliments  appro- 
priate in  a  minister. 

"  But,  Monseigneur,"  she  replied,  as  she  gave  him 
one  of  those  glances  which  women  keep  in  reserve, 
"  it  seems  to  me  that  that  depends  upon  you." 

"How?" 

"  But  you  can  give  me  that  right." 

"  Explain  your  words." 

"  No.  When  1  came  here  I  said  to  myself  that  I 
would  not  have  the  bad  taste  to  solicit  anything." 


276  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

*'  Speak!  Places  sought  in  this  way  are  never  out 
of  place,"  said  the  minister,  laughing. 

There  is  nothing  like  these  trifles  for  amusing 
serious  men. 

'*  Ah!  well,  it  is  ridiculous  for  the  wife  of  a  head- 
clerk  to  be  seen  here  so  often,  whereas  the  wife  of 
a  director  would  not  be  out  of  place." 

"Do  not  trouble  yourself  about  that,"  said  the 
minister,  "your  husband  is  an  indispensable  man; 
he  is  appointed." 

"  Are  you  speaking  the  strict  truth?" 

**  Will  you  go  to  my  office  and  see  his  nomina- 
tion?    The  papers  are  all  made  out." 

"Ah!  well,"  she  said,  as  she  was  seated  in  a 
corner  alone  with  the  minister,  whose  devotion  was 
becoming  very  noticeable,  "let  me  tell  you  that  I 
can  recompense  you — " 

She  was  about  to  divulge  her  husband's  plan, 
when  des  Lupeaulx,  who  had  come  up  on  tip-toe, 
uttered  an  angry  ejaculation,  which  meant  that  he 
did  not  wish  to  appear  to  have  heard  all  that  he  had 
listened  to.  The  minister  threw  an  ill-humored 
glance  at  the  old  fop,  taken  in  the  trap.  Impatient 
of  conquest,  des  Lupeaulx  had  pressed,  beyond 
measure,  the  work  of  the  staff.  He  had  carried  the 
paper  to  the  minister,  and  he  desired  to  take  the 
nomination  the  following  morning  to  the  woman 
who  passed  for  his  mistress.  At  this  moment  the 
minister's  valet  de  chambre  came  in  with  a  mys- 
terious air,  and  said  to  des  Lupeaulx  that  his  valet 
de  chambre  had  begged  him  to  deliver  this  letter  as 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  277 

soon  as  possible,  at  the  same  time  telling  him  of  its 
great  importance. 

The  secretary -general  went  near  a  lamp  and  read 
a  note,  thus  worded: 

Contrary  to  my  custom,  I  am  waiting  in  an  antechamber* 
and  there  is  not  an  instant  to  lose  if  you  wish  to  come  to 
terms  with 

Your  obedient  servant, 


Cj^^ccV^Si^ 


The  secretary  shuddered  when  he  saw  this  signa- 
ture, which  it  would  be  a  pity  not  to  give  in 
autograph,  for  it  is  rare  on  'Change,  and  would  be 
very  valuable  for  those  who  think  they  can  read  the 
character  from  the  writing  of  a  signature.  If  ever 
a  hieroglyphic  sign  looked  like  any  animal,  it  was 
assuredly  this  name,  in  which  the  first  and  the  final 
letter  made  the  outline  of  the  voracious  jaw  of  a 
shark,  insatiable,  always  open,  grasping,  and  de- 
vouring everything,  both  strong  and  weak.  It  has 
been  found  impossible  to  reproduce  the  hand-writing; 
it  was  too  small,  too  minute,  too  cramped,  although 
neat.  This  can  be  very  well  imagined  when  the 
sentence  only  took  the  space  of  one  line.  The 
spirit  of  usury  alone  could  have  inspired  a  sentence 
so  insolently  imperative  and  so  cruelly  irreproach- 
able, so  clear,  and  at  the  same  time  telling  so  little, 
saying  everything  and  betraying  nothing.  If  Gob- 
seek  had  been  unknown  to  yo\i,  at  the  sight  ai  that 


278  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

line  which  compelled  one  to  go  and  yet  was  not  an 
order,  you  would  readily  have  divined  the  implacable 
money-lender  of  Rue  des  Gr^s.  Thus,  like  a  dog 
which  the  hunter  has  called,  des  Lupeaulx  at  once 
left  the  chase  and  went  home,  meditating  his  com- 
promised position.  Imagine  a  general-in-chief  to 
whom  his  aide-de-camp  has  just  said:  "  The  enemy 
has  been  reinforced  by  thirty  thousand  fresh  troops, 
and  they  are  attacking  us  on  our  flank." 

One  word  will  explain  the  arrival  of  Messieurs 
Gigonnet  and  Gobseck  on  the  field  of  battle, — for 
they  were  both  at  des  Lupeaulx's  residence.  At 
eight  o'clock  that  evening,  Martin  Falleix  had  come 
on  the  wings  of  the  wind — thanks  to  three  francs,  to 
the  guides  and  to  the  courier  who  went  in  advance — ■ 
and  had  brought  back  with  him  the  title-deeds 
dated  the  evening  before.  The  securities,  which 
Mitral  took  at  once  to  the  Cafe  Themis,  had  passed 
into  the  hands  of  the  two  usurers,  who  hastened  to 
take  them  to  the  ministry,  even  going  on  foot. 
Eleven  o'clock  struck.  Des  Lupeaulx  trembled 
when  he  saw  the  two  sinister  faces  animated  by 
a  glance  as  direct  as  that  of  a  pistol-shot,  and  as  bril- 
liant as  the  flash  itself. 

"Well,  what  is  it,  my  masters.?" 

The  usurers  remained  cold  and  motionless.  Gi- 
gonnet pointed  by  turns  to  his  documents  and  to  the 
valet  de  chambre. 

"  Let  us  go  into  my  study,"  said  des  Lupeaulx, 
dismissing  his  valet  by  a  wave  of  his  hand. 

"You  understand  French  perfectly, ' '  said  Gigonnet. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  279 

"Have  you  come  here  to  torment  a  man  who 
has  put  it  in  the  way  of  each  of  you  to  make  two 
hundred  thousand  francs?"  he  said,  as  he  involun- 
tarily made  a  haughty  gesture. 

**  And  who  will  help  us  to  make  more,  I  hope," 
said  Gigonnet. 

"Some  business?" — replied  des  Lupeaulx.  *'If 
you  have  need  of  me,  I  can  remember." 

"And  as  for  us,  we  have  your  acccounts,"  an- 
swered Gigonnet. 

"  My  debts  will  be  paid,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  dis- 
dainfully, to  prevent  himself  from  being  attacked. 

"  True?"  said  Gobseck. 

"Come  to  the  point,  my  son,"  said  Gigonnet. 
"  Do  not  pose  like  that,  your  chin  down  in  your 
cravat;  with  us  it  is  useless.  Take  these  deeds  and 
read  them." 

The  two  usurers  took  an  inventory  of  des  Lu- 
peaulx's  office  while  he  read  with  amazement  and 
stupefaction  these  deeds,  which  seemed  to  him  to 
have  been  thrown  from  the  clouds  by  angels. 

"  Do  you  not  find  us  to  be  intelligent  business 
men?"  said  Gigonnet. 

"  But  to  what  do  I  owe  such  able  co-operation?" 
said  des  Lupeaulx,  anxiously. 

"We  knew  a  week  ago  a  fact  that  without  us 
you  would  only  know  to-morrow:  the  President  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  a  deputy,  feels  himself 
obliged  to  resign." 

Des  Lupeaulx's  eyes  dilated  and  grew  as  large  as 
daisies. 


280  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

*'  Your  minister  has  been  deceiving  you  about  it," 
said  the  concise  Gobseck. 

"You  are  my  masters, "  said  the  secretary -general, 
bowing  with  profound  respect  which  amounted  al- 
most to  mocl<ery. 

"True,"  said  Gobseck. 

"  But  do  you  wish  to  strangle  me?" 

"  Possibly." 

"Well,  go  to  work,  executioners!"  said  the 
secretary-general,  smilingly. 

"You  see,"  replied  Gigonnet,  "your  debts  are 
registered  with  the  money  borrowed  for  the  pur- 
chase." 

"Here  are  the  titles,"  said  Gobseck,  as  he  drew 
the  legal  documents  from  the  pockets  of  his  green- 
ish overcoat. 

"  You  shall  have  three  years  to  pay  up  every- 
thing," said  Gigonnet. 

"  But,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  frightened  by  so  much 
consideration  and  by  such  a  peculiar  arrangement, 
"  what  do  you  want  of  me?" 

**La  Billardi^re's  position  for  Baudoyer,"  said 
Gigonnet,  quickly. 

"  That  is  a  very  little  thing,  although  it  will  be 
next  to  impossible  for  me  to  accomplish  it.  My 
hands  are  tied,"  replied  des  Lupeaulx. 

"  Bite  the  cords  with  your  teeth,"  said  Gigonnet. 

"They  are  sharp!"  added  Gobseck. 

"  Is  that  all?"  said  des  Lupeaulx. 

"  We  will  keep  the  documents  until  your  debts 
are  paid,"  said  Gigonnet,  as  he  placed  an  account 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  38l 

under  the  eyes  of  the  secretary -general;  **  if  they 
are  not  acknowledged  by  the  commission  in  six 
days,  your  name  on  this  deed  will  be  replaced  by 
mine.'* 

"  You  are  shrewd,"  cried  the  secretary -general.. 

**  True,"  said  Gobseck. 

**  This  is  all?"  said  des  Lupeaulx. 

"  True,"  said  Gobseck. 

"  Do  you  agree  to  it?"  asked  Gigonnet. 

Des  Lupeaulx  bowed. 

'*  Well,  sign  this  power  of  attorney,"  said  Gigon- 
net. "  In  two  days  Baudoyer  is  to  be  nominated; 
in  six  your  debts  will  be  paid,  and — " 

**  And  what?"  said  des  Lupeaulx. 

"We  will  guarantee — " 

"What?"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  more  and  more 
astonished. 

"  Your  nomination,"  replied  Gigonnet,  with  atone 
of  authority.  "  We  will  secure  the  majority  with  the 
vote  of  fifty-two  farmers  and  mechanics,  who  will 
obey  the  one  who  lends  you  the  money." 

Des  Lupeaulx  pressed  Gigonnet's  hand. 

"It  is  only  between  us  that  disputes  are  impos- 
sible," he  said;  "that  is  what  might  be  called  busi- 
ness!    Besides,  I  will  make  you  return  the  gift." 

"  True,"  said  Gobseck. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Gigonnet. 

"The  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  for  your 
imbecile  nephew." 

"Good,  "said  Gigonnet;  "  you  are  well  acquainted 
with  him." 


282  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Then  the  usurers  saluted  des  Lupeaulx,  who 
escorted  them  to  the  stairs. 

"They  must  be  secret  messengers  from  some 
foreign  powers,"  said  the  two  valets  de  chambre  to 
each  other. 

Once  in  the  street,  the  two  usurers  saw  each 
other  by  the  light  of  the  street-lamp,  and  laughed. 

"  He  will  owe  us  nine  thousand  francs  interest 
yearly,  and  the  estate  scarcely  brings  him  in  five, 
net,"  said  Gigonnet. 

"  He  is  in  our  hands  for  some  time,"  said  Gobseck. 

*'  He  will  build,  he  will  commit  follies,"  replied 
Gigonnet;  "  Falleix  will  get  his  land." 

"  His  wish  is  solely  to  become  deputy,  the  surly 
wolf  laughs  at  the  rest,"  said  Gobseck. 

"Hey!  Hey!" 

*'Hey!   Hey!" 

These  little  dry  exclamations  made  the  two  usurers 
laugh,  as  they  wended  their  way  on  foot  to  the 
Cafe  TTiimis. 

Des  Lupeaulx  returned  to  the  drawing-room  and 
found  Madame  Rabourdin  under  full  sail;  she  was 
charming,  and  the  minister,  who  was  usually  so  sad, 
wore  a  smooth  and  gracious  countenance. 

"She  works  miracles,"  said  des  Lupeaulx. 
"  What  a  valuable  woman!  I  must  fathom  even  to 
the  depth  of  her  heart." 

"She  is  decidedly  attractive,  your  little  lady," 
said  the  marquise  to  the  secretary -general;  "she 
lacks  but  taking  your  name." 

"Yes,  her  only  misfortune  is  that  she  is  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  283 

daughter  of  an  auctioneer.  She  will  fail  by  the 
accident  of  birth,"  replied  des  Lupeaulx,  with  a 
cold  manner,  which  was  a  great  contrast  to  the  ardor 
of  his  remarks  about  Madame  Rabourdin  a  moment 
before. 

The  marquise  regarded  des  Lupeaulx  with  a  fixed 
expression. 

"You  threw  them  a  look  which  has  not  escaped 
my  observation,"  she  said,  looking  toward  the 
minister  and  Madame  Rabourdin;  "it  pierced  the 
glasses  of  your  spectacles.  You  both  furnish  amuse- 
ment by  quarreling  over  that  bone." 

As  the  marquise  passed  out  of  the  door,  the  minis- 
ter ran  toward  her  and  brought  her  back. 

"Well,"  said  des  Lupeaulx  to  Madame  Rabour- 
din, "  what  do  you  think  of  our  minister?" 

"  He  is  charming.  Truly,"  she  replied,  raising 
her  voice  so  as  to  be  heard  by  the  minister's  wife. 
"  These  poor  ministers  should  be  known  to  be 
appreciated.  The  small  newspapers  and  the  calum- 
nies of  the  opposition  distort  the  characters  of  political 
men  to  such  an  extent  that  one  is  at  last  influenced 
by  the  articles;  but  these  prejudices  turn  to  their 
advantage  when  one  sees  the  men  themselves." 

"He  is  very  good  looking,"  said  des  Lupeaulx. 

"Well,  I  can  assure  you  that  he  is  lovable,"  she 
said,  good-naturedly. 

"Dear  child,"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  in  his  turn 
assuming  a  friendly  and  coaxing  manner,  "  you  have 
accomplished  the  impossible." 

"What?"  she  said. 


384  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"  You  have  brought  the  dead  to  life.  I  thought 
he  had  no  heart;  ask  his  wife!  He  has  just  enough 
to  gratify  a  fancy:  but  let  us  turn  it  to  your  advan- 
tage.   Come  here.     Do  not  be  astonished." 

He  led  Madame  Rabourdin  into  the  boudoir,  and 
sat  down  on  the  sofa  by  her. 

**  You  are  very  shrewd,  and  I  love  you  more  for 
it.  Between  ourselves,  you  are  a  superior  woman. 
Des  Lupeaulx  has  gained  your  admittance  here, 
and  that  is  all  he  is  needed  for;  is  it  not  so.?  Be- 
sides, when  one  makes  up  one's  mind  to  love  for 
selfish  ends,  it  is  better  to  take  a  sexagenarian 
minister  than  a  quadragenarian  secretary -general: 
there  is  more  profit  in  it,  and  it  is  less  tiresome.  I 
am  a  man  who  wears  spectacles,  whose  hair  is  turn- 
ing gray,  who  is  satiated  with  pleasure.  What  a 
fine  picture  of  a  lover!  Oh!  I  have  said  that  to 
myself!  Although  it  may  be  necessary  to  admit 
that  I  am  useful,  I  can  never  be  agreeable;  is  that 
not  so?  One  must  be  a  dunce  not  to  know  how  to 
reason  about  himself.  You  may  tell  me  the  truth, 
and  show  me  the  depth  of  your  heart  We  are 
two  partners,  and  not  two  lovers.  If  I  have  some- 
times shown  a  tenderness  for  you,  you  are  too 
superior  a  woman  to  pay  any  attention  to  such 
nonsense,  and  you  will  forgive  me,  that  is,  if  you 
have  not  the  ideas  of  a  young  school-girl  or  of  a 
bourgeoise  of  Rue  Saint-Denis!  Bah!  We  are  better 
brought  up  than  that,  you  and  I.  See,  the  Marquise 
d'Espard  is  leaving;  do  you  believe  that  she  does 
not  reason  thus?    We  came  to  an  understanding 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  385 

nearly  two  years  ago — the  flirt! — Ah,  well!  she  has 
only  to  write  me  a  word,  a  short  line:  'A^  dear  des 
Lupeaulx,  you  will  oblige  me  by  doing  so  and  so!'  and 
it  is  done  at  once;  we  are  just  now  trying  to  have 
her  husband  declared  incapable  of  managing  his 
own  affairs.  You  women,  it  costs  you  only  a  few 
smiles  to  obtain  what  you  want.  Ah!  well,  then, 
turn  the  head  of  the  minister,  dear  child;  I  will  help 
you  to  do  it;  it  is  to  my  interest  to  do  so.  Yes,  I 
wish  that  there  might  be  a  woman  who  could  in- 
fluence him.  He  would  then  not  escape  me;  he 
escapes  me  now  sometimes,  and  that  can  well  be 
imagined;  I  only  hold  him  by  his  reason;  in  con- 
necting myself  with  a  pretty  woman,  I  would  be 
able  to  hold  him  by  his  folly,  and  that  is  a  stronger 
grasp.  Thus  let  us  remain  good  friends,  and  let  us 
divide  the  advantages  of  the  conquest  you  are 
making." 

Madame  Rabourdin  listened  in  the  greatest  amaze- 
ment to  this  singular  profession  of  rascality.  The 
artlessness  of  this  crafty  politician  excluded  every 
idea  of  surprise. 

**  Do  you  believe  that  he  thinks  of  me?'*  she 
asked,  caught  in  the  trap. 

**  I  know  it,  I  am  sure  of  it." 

"Is  it  true  that  Rabourdin's  nomination  is 
signed?" 

**  I  gave  him  the  papers  this  morning.  But  it  is 
nothing  to  be  director;  he  ought  to  bt  maitre  de 
requites." — 

"Yes,"  she  said. 


286  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

*'Ah!  well,  re-enter  the  drawing-room  and  flirt 
with  His  Excellency." 

**  Truly,  I  have  only  really  known  you  this  even- 
ing.    There  is  nothing  commonplace  about  you." 

"  Well,  then,"  des  Lupeaulx  replied,  "  we  are  two 
old  friends,  and  we  will  suppress  all  tender  senti- 
ments, tiresome  love-making,  to  take  the  question 
as  it  was  taken  under  the  Regency,  when  people 
were  sufficiently  clever." 

**  You  are  really  strong,  and  you  have  my  admira- 
tion," she  said,  as  she  smiled  and  stretched  forth 
her  hand.  "  You  know  that  one  will  do  more  for 
one's  friend  than  for  one's — " 

She  re-entered  the  drawing  room  without  finishing 
her  sentence. 

"Dear  little  one,"  said  des  Lupeaulx  to  himself, 
as  he  saw  her  approach  the  minister,  "des  Lu- 
peaulx has  no  longer  any  remorse  in  turning  against 
you!  To-morrow  evening,  in  offering  me  a  cup  of 
tea,  you  will  be  offering  me  what  I  no  longer  wish — 
all  is  over!  Ah!  When  we  are  forty  years  old 
women  can  always  entrap  us,  but  we  can  no  longer 
be  loved." 

He  entered  the  drawing-room  after  having  looked 
at  himself  from  head  to  foot  in  the  glass,  and  he 
recognized  himself  as  a  fine-looking  politician,  but 
perfectly  incapacitated  by  the  Cytherean  Venus. 
At  this  moment  Madame  Rabourdin  was  collecting 
her  ideas.  She  contemplated  going,  she  wished  to 
leave  in  the  mind  of  each  person  present  a  last 
graceful  impression,  and  she  succeeded.    Contrary 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  287 

to  the  usual  custom  in  drawing-rooms,  every  one 
exclaimed,  after  she  had  left:  "  That  charming 
woman!"  and  the  minister  himself  led  her  to  the 
outer  door. 

"  I  am  very  sure  that  you  will  think  of  me  to- 
morrow," he  said,  as  he  turned  back,  alluding  to  the 
nomination. — "So  few  of  the  wives  of  the  high 
functionaries  are  agreeable,  that  I  am  delighted  with 
this  acquisition,"  said  the  minister,  as  he  re-entered. 

"  Do  you  not  find  her  a  little  encroaching?"  said 
des  Lupeaulx,  with  a  piqued  air. 

The  women  present  exchanged  expressive  glances, 
for  the  rivalry  between  the  minister  and  his  secre- 
tary-general amused  them.  Then  took  place  one 
of  those  pretty  comedies  which  Parisians  know  so 
well  how  to  comprehend.  The  women  encouraged 
the  minister  and  des  Lupeaulx  to  talk  about  Madame 
Rabourdin;  one  found  her  too  affected  and  too 
anxious  to  appear  clever;  another  compared  the 
graces  of  the  bourgeoisie  with  the  manners  of  this 
high  society,  so  as  to  criticise  C^lestine;  and  des 
Lupeaulx  defended  his  supposed  mistress  as  one 
would  defend  one's  enemy  in  a  drawing-room. 

**  Let  us  do  her  justice,  ladies!  Is  it  not  extra- 
ordinary that  the  daughter  of  an  auctioneer  should 
appear  so  well!  Look  where  she  came  from,  and 
see  where  she  is;  she  will  go  to  the  Tuileries;  she 
intends  to  accomplish  that;  she  told  me  as  much." 

*Mf  she  is  the  daughter  of  an  auctioneer,"  said 
Madame  d'Espard,  smilingly,  "  how  can  that  hinder 
her  husband's  advancement?" 


388  THE  aVIL  SERVICE 

*'In  these  days,  do  you  not  mean?**  said  the 
minister's  wife,  biting  her  lips. 

"Madame,"  said  the  minister  to  the  marquise, 
sternly,  "  with  such  words — when  unhappily  the 
court  spares  no  one — revolutions  are  brought  about. 
You  cannot  imagine  how  much  the  thoughtless  con- 
duct of  the  aristocracy  displeases  certain  clear- 
sighted personages  at  the  palace.  If  I  were  a  great 
lord,  instead  of  a  mere  country-gentleman,  who 
appears  to  be  placed  where  he  is  to  transact  your 
business,  the  monarchy  would  not  be  so  badly  off 
as  I  see  it  now.  What  will  become  of  a  throne 
which  does  not  share  its  dignity  with  those  who 
represent  it?  We  are  far  from  the  days  when  the 
king  aggrandized  men  by  the  force  of  his  will  alone 
— such  as  Louvois,  Colbert,  Richelieu,  Jeannin, 
Villeroy  and  Sully — yes.  Sully,  when  he  first 
became  prominent  was  no  greater  than  I.  I  speak 
to  you  thus  because  we  are  among  ourselves,  and 
that  I  really  would  amount  to  very  little  if  1  were 
offended  by  such  trifles.  It  lies  with  ourselves,  and 
not  with  others,  whether  or  not  we  shall  be  great." 

"  You  are  appointed,  my  dear,"  said  Celestine,  as 
she  pressed  her  husband's  hand.  **  If  des  Lupeaulx 
had  not  prevented  me  I  would  have  developed  your 
plan  to  the  minister;  but  I  will  do  it  next  Tuesday, 
and  you  can  thus  all  the  sooner  become  maitre  de 
requites!" 

In  the  life  of  all  women,  there  is  one  day  when 
they  will  appear  at  their  very  best,  and  this  day 
leaves  them  an  eternal  memory  to  which  they  will 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  389 

return  with  pleasure.  When  Madame  Rabourdin 
took  off,  one  by  one,  the  ornaments  of  her  apparel, 
she  thought  over  the  evening,  and  counted  it  as 
among  her  times  of  triumph  and  happiness:  all  her 
graces  had  been  envied,  she  had  been  flattered  by 
the  minister's  wife,  who  was  glad  to  compare  her 
with  her  friends.  Above  everything,  all  her  vanities 
had  shown  to  the  profit  of  conjugal  love.  Rabourdin 
was  nominated! 

"  Did  I  not  look  well  this  evening?"  she  said  to 
her  husband,  just  as  though  he  needed  stirring  up. 

At  this  moment.  Mitral, — who  was  at  the  Cafe 
Themis,  awaiting  the  two  usurers, — perceived  them 
enter  and  saw  no  emotion  depicted  on  these  two 
immobile  faces. 

"  How  do  we  stand  in  regard  to  it?"  he  said  to 
them  when  they  were  seated  at  table. 

"Ah!  well,  same  as  ever,"  said  Gigonnet, 
rubbing  his  hands, — "  victory  due  to  gold." 

"True,"  said  Gobseck. 

Mitral  took  a  hack  and  hunted  up  the  Saillards 
and  Baudoyers,  who  were  still  playing  boston;  but 
no  one  else  was  there  except  the  Abbe  Gaudron. 
Falleix,  all  but  dead  with  fatigue,  had  gone  to 
bed. 

"  You  will  be  nominated,  my  nephew,  and  there 
is  a  surprise  in  reserve  for  you." 

"What?"  said  Saillard. 

"  The  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor!"  said  Mitral. 

"  God  protects  those  who  remember  His  altars!" 
said  Gaudron. 
19 


290  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Thus  the  Te  Deum  was  sung  in  the  two  camps 
with  equal  joy. 

The  following  day,  Wednesday,  Monsieur  Rabour- 
din  was  to  transact  business  with  the  minister,  for 
he  had  filled  the  late  La  Billardi^re's  place  since  the 
illness  of  the  deceased.  On  these  days  the  clerks 
were  there  on  time,  the  office-boys  were  very 
attentive,  for  on  such  occasions,  when  documents 
were  signed,  all  was  excitement  in  the  offices,  and 
why  ?  No  one  knew.  The  three  servants  were  then 
at  their  posts,  and  anticipated  a  few  fees,  for  the  rumor 
of  Monsieur  Rabourdin's  nomination  had  been  spread 
abroad  the  evening  before  by  des  Lupeaulx.  Uncle 
Antoine  and  the  porter  Laurent  were  there  in  full 
uniform  when,  at  a  quarter  before  eight,  the 
secretary's  servant  came  and  begged  Antoine  to 
deliver  privately  to  Monsieur  Dutocq  a  letter  that 
the  secretary-general  had  told  him  to  take  to  the 
principal  clerk  at  seven  o'clock. 

**  I  do  not  know  how  it  happened,  my  old  fellow;  I 
slept,  I  slept,  and  I  have  only  just  awakened.  He 
would  lead  me  the  devil's  dance  if  he  knew  that  the 
letter  had  not  been  delivered  ;  whereas,  as  it  is,  I  will 
say  that  I  am  positive  that  I  carried  it  myself  to 
Monsieur  Dutocq's  residence.  A  famous  secret. 
Father  Antoine,  do  not  mention  a  word  about  it  to 
the  clerks;  on  your  honor!  he  would  dismiss  me.  I 
should  lose  my  place  should  I  utter  a  single  word,  so 
he  said!" 

"What  can  be  inside  this  letter?"  said  Antoine. 

**  Nothing;  1  have  looked  through  it,  like  that.  See!" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  SQI 

And  he  made  the  letter  gape  open,  and  only  blank 
paper  could  be  seen. 

"  This  is  your  great  day,  Laurent,"  said  the 
secretary's  ofifice-boy ;  "  you  are  going  to  have  a  new 
director.  Undoubtedly,  economy  will  be  practised, 
the  two  divisions  will  be  united  under  one  director. 
Take  care,  boys." 

"Yes,  nine  clerks  will  be  dismissed,"  said  Dutocq, 
who  came  in  just  then.     "  How  did  you  hear  that?" 

Antoine  presented  the  letter  to  Dutocq,  who 
rushed  down  stairs,  opened  it,  and  ran  to  the 
secretary's  office. 

After  having  gossiped  much  since  the  death  of  de 
la  Billardi^re,  the  two  offices  of  Rabourdin  and  Bau- 
doyer  had  resumed  their  accustomed  aspect,  and 
their  habits  of  administrative  dolce  far  niente. 
Nevertheless,  the  close  of  the  year  brought  about  a 
sort  of  studious  application  in  the  offices,  just  as 
servants  become  then  more  servile.  Every  one 
arrived  punctually  and  a  greater  number  remained 
after  four  o'clock, — for  the  distribution  of  fees 
depends  upon  the  last  impressions  which  one  leaves 
on  the  chiefs  at  that  season.  The  previous  evening 
the  rumor  of  the  reunion  of  the  two  divisions  of  La 
Billardi^re  and  Clergeot,  with  one  chief,  under  a  new 
title,  had  agitated  both  divisions.  The  number  of 
the  clerks  discharged  was  known,  but  their  names 
were  withheld.  It  was  well  conjectured  that  Poiret 
would  not  be  replaced;  they  intended  economizing 
by  dispensing  with  his  position.  Little  La  Billardi^re 
had  gone.    Two  new  supernumeraries  had  arrived; 


292  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

and,  what  was  an  alarming  sign,  they  were  the  sons 
of  deputies.  The  news  told  the  previous  evening  in 
the  offices,  at  the  time  the  clerks  were  leaving,  had 
filled  their  minds  with  terror.  Thus  for  the  first 
half-hour  after  their  arrival  they  stood  in  groups 
around  the  stove  and  talked.  But  before  any  one 
arrived,  Dutocq  had  seen  des  Lupeaulx  at  his  toilet; 
and,  without  laying  down  his  razor,  the  secretary- 
general  had  looked  at  him  in  the  same  manner  that 
a  general  would  have  done  in  issuing  an  order. 

**  Are  we  alone?"  he  said  to  him. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Very  well,  march  on  Rabourdin,  forward  and 
steady!  You  have  no  doubt  kept  a  copy  of  his 
document?" 

"  Yes." 

"  You  understand  me:  Inde  irce/  There  must  be 
a  general  outcry.  Try  to  invent  something  to  raise 
a  clamor — " 

"I  can  get  a  caricature  made  of  him,  but  I  have  not 
five  hundred  francs  to  give — " 

"Who  will  make  it?" 

"  Bixiou." 

"  He  shall  have  a  thousand  francs,  and  shall  be 
made  assistant  under  Colleville,  who  will  arrange 
with  him." 

"  But  he  will  not  believe  me.** 

"  Do  you  wish  to  compromise  me  by  an  accident? 
Go,  or  else  nothing,  do  you  understand?  If  Monsieur 
Baudoyer  were  director,  he  might  lend  the  sum — " 

"  Yes,  he  will  be  director.    Leave  me.    Hurry, 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  293 

and  do  not  appear  to  have  seen  me;  go  down  by  the 
small  stairway." 

While  Dutocq  was  returning  to  the  clerk's  office, 
his  heart  beat  with  joy,  and  he  asked  himself  how 
he  could  excite  the  rumor  against  his  chief,  without 
compromising  himself  too  much.  Bixiou  went  to 
Rabourdin's  office  to  wish  the  clerks  good-day.  This 
great  joker,  believing  that  he  had  lost  the  bet,  found 
it  agreeable  to  pose  as  having  gained  it. 

BIXIOU — Imitating  Phelllon's  voice. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  salute  you  by  wishing  you  good- 
day,  collectively.  And  I  appoint  next  Sunday  for  a 
dinner  at  the  Rocher  de  Cancale;  but  a  serious  question 
presents  itself:  What  shall  we  do  about  asking  the 
dismissed  clerks?" 

POIRET. 

**  And  those  who  are  about  to  retire." 

BIXIOU. 
"  It  is  all  the  same  to  me,  for  it  is  not  I  who  pays. 
— General  consternation. — Baudoyer  is  appointed;  1  think 

I  already  hear  him  calling  Laurent. — He  mimicked  Bau- 
doyer. 

*  Laurent,  lock  up  my  hair-shirt  and  also  my  scourge ' 

They  all   roared  with   Uughter. — Ris  (fahoyeUT  d'oiel   Col* 

leville  is  right  in  his  anagrams,  for  you  know 
the  anagram  of  Xavier  Rabourdin,  chief  of  bureau, 
is:  D'abord  reva  bureaux^  e,  «,  fin  riche.  If  i 
were  named  Charles  X.,  par  la  grace  de  Dieu,  roi  de 
Franu  ei  de  Navarre,  1  should  tremble  at  having  the 


294  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

sad  fate  that  my  anagram  thus  arranged  would 
prophesy." 

THUILLIER. 
"Ah!  you  are  joking!" 

BIXIOU — lauehine  In  bis  face. 

*'/2«s  au  laid  (rice  with  mill<).  That  is  pretty, 
that,  Papa  Thuillier,  for  you  are  not  good-looking. 
Rabourdin  resigns;  he  is  so  angry  that  Baudoyer 
should  be  appointed  director." 

VIMEUX— enterlne. 

"What  nonsense!  Antoine,  to  whom  1  have  just 
paid  thirty  or  forty  francs,  told  me  that  Monsieur 
and  Madame  Rabourdin  were  received  yesterday  at 
the  private  reception  of  the  minister,  and  that  they 
remained  there  until  a  quarter  to  twelve.  His  Ex- 
cellency escorted  Madame  Rabourdin  to  the  stairs. 
It  seems  she  was  divinely  dressed.  In  short,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  he  is  appointed  director.  Riffe,  the 
secretary's  copying-clerk,  sat  up  all  night  to  finish 
the  papers  as  soon  as  possible;  it  is  no  longer  a 
secret.  Monsieur  Clergeot  has  been  retired.  After 
thirty  years  of  service,  that  is  no  disgrace.  Mon- 
sieur Cochin,  who  is  rich — " 

BIXIOU. 
"According  to  Colleville,  he  dealt  in  cochineal." 

VIMEUX. 
"  Why  he  is  in  the  cochineal  business,  for  he  is  a 
partner  in  the  firm  of  Matifat,  Rue  des  Lombards. 
Ah!  well,  he  has  been  retired.     Poiret  has  been 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  295 

retired.  Neither  of  them  is  replaced.  That  is 
certain;  the  rest  is  not  yet  known.  The  nomination 
of  Monsieur  Rabourdin  is  to  be  announced  this  morn- 
ing; they  are  afraid  of  intrigues." 

BIXIOU. 
"What  intrigues?" 

FLEURY. 
**  Baudoyer's.   Zounds!  The  clerical  party  upholds 
him;  and  see,  here  is  a  new  article  in  the  liberal 
journal;   it  only  consists  of   two  lines,  but  it  is 

droll." — He   reads. 

"  Certain  persons  spoke  last  night  In  the  foyer  of  the  Opera 
House  of  the  return  of  Monsieur  de  Chateaubriand  to  the 
ministry,  and  settled  on  their  choice  of  Monsieur  Rabourdin — 
the  protege  of  the  friends  of  the  noble  viscount— to  fill  the 
place  which  was  first  destined  for  Monsieur  Baudoyer.  The 
clerical  party  will  scarcely  withdraw  unless  in  deference  to 
the  great  writer." 

"  Rascals!" 

DUTOCQ — entering  after  having  heard  everything. 

"Who,  a  rascal.?  Rabourdin.  So  you  have  heard 
the  news?" 

FLEURY — rolling  his  savage  eye*. 

"Rabourdin! — a  rascal?  Are  you  mad,  Dutocq,. 
and  do  you  want  a  ball  in  your  brains  to  give  them 
weight?" 

DUTOCQ. 

"  I  have  said  nothing  against  Monsieur  Rabourdin; 
only  it  has  just  been  secretly  confided  to  me,  in  the 
court-yard,  that  he  has  denounced  many  of  the 
clerks,  taken  notes,  in  fact;  that  his  interest  in  the 


296  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

ministries  has  been  promoted  by  the  work,  in  which 
each  one  of  us  is  severely  dealt  with." 

PHELLION — in  a  loud  voice. 

"  Monsieur  Rabourdin  is  incapable — " 

BIXIOU. 
•     "That  is  all  right  enough!    Tell  us  then  Dutocq?" 

—They  whispered  a  word  to  eacli  other,  and  then  went  into  the  corridor.-^- 
BIXIOU. 

"  What  is  going  on,  now?" 

DUTOCQ 
"  Do  you  remember  about  the  caricature?" 

BIXIOU. 
"Yes;  well?" 

DUTOCQ. 
"Make  it  and  you  shall  be  chief-assistant  and 
have  an  extraordinary  salary.  Do  you  see,  my 
boy,  there  is  discord  in  the  higher  ranks.  The 
minister  is  pledged  to  Rabourdin;  but  if  he  does  not 
appoint  Baudoyer,  he  will  get  into  trouble  with  the 
clergy.  Do  you  not  see?  the  King,  the  Dauphin 
and  the  Dauphiness,  the  Grand  Almonry,  in  fact, 
the  Court,  wish  Baudoyer,  while  the  minister  desires 
to  appoint  Rabourdin." 

BIXIOU. 
"Good—" 

DUTOCQ. 
"  In  order  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation — for  the 
minister  has  seen  the  necessity  of  giving  way — he 
wishes  to  obviate  the  difficulty.     An  accusation 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  397 

must  be  made  which  will  result  in  Rabourdin's 
overthrow.  For  that  purpose  an  old  document  of 
his  has  been  unearthed,  which  he  wrote  on  the 
administrations  for  the  purpose  of  purifying  them, 
and  of  which  he  has  circulated  some  copies.  At 
least  this  is  how  I  succeeded  in  explaining  matters  to 
myself.  Make  the  drawing  and  you  will  enter  into 
the  game  with  the  highest  dignitaries;  you  will 
at  the  same  time  serve  the  minister,  the  court,  in 
fact  everyone,  and  you  will  be  appointed.  Do  you 
understand?" 

BIXIOU. 
'•  I  do  not  understand  how  you  came  to  know  all 
that,  or  perhaps  you  invented  it." 

DUTOCQ. 
**  Do  you  wish  me  to  show  you  the  article  about 
yourself?" 

BIXIOU. 
"  Yes." 

DUTOCQ. 
"Very  well,    come    to  my  house,  for  I  must 
replace  this  document  in  safe  hands." 

BIXIOU. 

"Go  there  alone. — Hs   re-enters  RabourdJn'a  offlc«. ThefC 

can  be  no  question  in  regard  to  what  Dutocq  has 
told  you,  word  of  honor.  Monsieur  Rabourdin  must 
have  given  very  unflattering  accounts  of  the  clerks 
he  wished  to  reform.  The  secret  of  his  elevation 
lies  in  this.    We  live  in  a  time  when  no  one  is 


298  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

astonished  at  anything. — He  drapes  his  cloak  after  the  fashion  off 
Talma. 

'You  have  seen  the  most  illustrious  heads  fall, 
And  you  are  astonished,  senseless  that  you  are  1' 

to  find  a  case  of  this  kind  by  favor  of  a  man.?  l\^y 
Baudoyer  is  too  much  of  a  fool  to  succeed  by  such 
means!  Accept  my  congratulations,  gentlemen;  you 
are  under  an  illustrious  chief.** — He  departs. 

POIRET. 
"  I  will  yet  leave  the  ministry  before  I  understand 
one  word  which  that  gentleman  says.    What  does 
he  mean  by  his  heads  that  fall?" 

FLEURY. 

"Zounds!  the  four  sergeants  of  la  Rochelle, 
Berton,  Ney,  Caron,  the  brothers  Faucher  and  all 
the  massacres!** 

PHELLION. 
*'  He  advances  thoughtlessly  on  hazardous  prop- 
ositions.** 

FLEURY. 
"  Say,  then,  that  he  lies,  that  he  is  joking!  and 
'that,  in  his  mouth,  truth  takes  the  form  of  verdigris.*' 

PHELLION. 

"  Your  words  exceed  the  bounds  of  politeness 
and  courtesy  due  to  colleagues.*' 

VIMEUX. 
"  It  seems  to  me  that,  if  what  he  says  is  false,  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  299 

proper  name  for  it  is  calumny,  defamation,  and  that 
one  who  defames  should  be  horsewhipped." 

FLEURY — becoming  animated. 

"  And  the  government  offices  are  public  places; 
they  should  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  police- 1 
courts.** 

PHELLION— wishing  to  avert  a  quarrel,  tries  to  turn  the  conversation* 

"  Gentlemen,  calm  yourselves.  I  am  at  work  on 
a  new  little  treatise  on  moral  philosophy,  and  I  am 
in  the  very  midst  of  it — '* 

FLEURY — Interrupting  him. 

"What  are  you  saying  about  it,  Monsieur 
Phellion?'* 

PHELLION— reading. 

**  Question. — IVhat  is  the  soul  of  man?** 

**  Answer.—//  is  a  spiritual  substance  which  thinks 

and  reasons.** 

THUILLIER. 
•*  Answer. — A  spiritual  substance^  that  is  just  the 

same  as  saying  immaterial  stone,** 

POIRET. 
**  Let  him  say  on — ** 

PHELLION — continuing. 

"  Question. — Whence  comes  the  soul?" 
**  Answer. — //  comes  from  God,  who  has  created  it 
of  a  simple  and  indivisible  nature,  which  we  conse- 
quently can  not  imagine  as  destructible,  and  He  has 
said—** 


300 

THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

• 

POIRET — stupefied. 

"God?" 

PHELLION. 

"Yes,  sir. 

The  tradition  is  just  what  I  have 

narrated." 

FLEURY — ^to  Potret 

**  Do  not  interrupt,  yourself!" 

PHELLION resuming. 

*'j4nd  He  has  said  that  He  created  it  immortal; 

that  is  to  say  that  it  will  never  die.'* 
*'  Question. — Of  what  use  is  the  soul?** 
**  Answer. — To  comprehend,  to  will  and  to  remem' 

her;  these  constitute  judgment,  volition,  memory.'* 
**  Question. — Of  what  use  is  understanding?'* 
**  Answer. — To  know.    It  is  the  eye  of  the  soul.  ** 

FLEURY. 
**  And  the  soul  is  the  eye  of  what?" 

PHELLION — continuing. 

"  Question.  —  What  does  the  understanding 
know}** 

*'  Answer. — Truth.** 

"  Question.  —  Why  does  man  possess  a  will' 
power?** 

"Answer. — In  order  to  love  good  and  to  hate 
eoUr 

"  Question.— W^/  is  good?** 

"  Answer. — That  which  makes  one  ha^," 


« 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  301 

VIMEUX. 
And  you  are  writing  that  for  the  young  ladies?" 


PHELLION. 

"Yes." — Continuing — "Question. — How  many  kinds 
of  good  are  there?** 

FLEURY. 
"All  this  is  trifling!" 

PHELLION— Indignant 

"  Oh!  sir! — Caiming himseif — But  here  is  the  reply.  1 
am  writing  it  now." — He  reads. 

"  Answer. — There  are  two  kinds  of  good,  eternal 
good  and  temporal  good.'* 

POIRET — with  a  look  of  contempt 

"  And  it  will  have  a  great  sale." 

PHELLION. 

"  I  dare  to  hope  so.  It  is  necessary  to  concentrate 
one's  mind  greatly  to  carry  on  a  system  of  questions 
and  answers;  that  is  why  I  beg  you  to  let  me  think, 
for  the  answers — " 

THUILLIER — Interruptinr 

"  Besides,  the  answers  might  be  sold  sepa« 
rately— " 

PHELLION. 
"  I  have  committed  a  great  fault  by  interrupting 

yOU.*-~He  dives  his  head  into  his  portfolio;  then  continues  to  say  to  him- 
self.— But  now  they  will  think  no  more  about 
Rabourdin." 


At  this  moment  a  scene  was  taking  place  between 
des  Lupeaulx  and  the  minister  which  decided 
Rabourdin's  fate.  Before  breakfast  the  secretary- 
general  went  to  seek  His  Excellency  in  his  office, 
assuring  himself  that  La  Bri^re  was  not  within 
hearing. 

"Your  Excellency  does  not  play  fairly  with 
me—" 

*'Weare,  then,  about  to  quarrel,"  thought  the 
minister,  **  because  his  mistress  flirted  with  me  last 
evening.  I  thought  you  less  of  a  child,  my  dear 
friend,"  he  replied  in  a  loud  voice. 

The  minister  gazed  haughtily  at  des  Lupeaulx. 

"We  are  alone,  and  we  can  explain  ourselves. 
The  deputy  of  the  district  where  my  estate  of  des 
Lupeaulx  is  situated — " 

"  It  is,  then  really  an  estate!"  laughingly  replied 
the  minister,  in  order  to  hide  his  surprise. 

'*  Increased  by  a  recent  purchase  of  two  hundred 
thousand  francs,"  des  Lupeaulx  replied,  carelessly. 
"  You  knew  the  resignation  of  this  deputy  ten  days 
ago;  but  you  have  not  told  me  about  it.  You  need 
not  have  done  it,  but  you  knew  very  well  that  I  am 
exceedingly  desirous  of  taking  my  seat  in  the  Centre. 
Have  you  imagined  that  I  am  capable  of  throwing 
the  weight  of  my  influence  in  the  politics  which 
will  work  your  destruction,  yours  and  that  of  the 

(3ft3) 


304  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

monarchy,  if  this  party  is  allowed  to  recruit  itself 
by  taking  in  men  of  unrecognized  abilities?  Do 
you  know  that  there  are  not  more  than  fifty  or  sixty 
dangerous  heads  in  a  nation,  whose  abilities  are  in 
proportion  to  their  ambitious  schemes  ?  To  know  how 
to  govern,  is  to  find  these  heads,  so  that  they  can  be 
cut  off  or  bought  off.  1  do  not  know  if  I  have  any 
talent,  but  I  am  ambitious,  and  you  are  committing 
the  fault  of  not  being  on  good  terms  with  a  man 
who  only  wishes  you  well.  The  coronation  dazzles 
for  a  moment,  but  what  follows? — Then  the  war  of 
words  and  discussions  wil  recommence  more  bitterly 
than  ever.  Ah!  well,  for  your  own  sake,  take  care 
that  you  do  not  find  me  in  the  Left  Centre,  believe 
me!  Notwithstanding  the  manoeuvres  of  your  pre- 
fect— who,  doubtless,  has  heard  some  confidential 
instructions  against  me — 1  will  have  the  majority. 
The  moment  has  come  for  us  to  understand  one 
another.  After  a  slight  falling  out,  people  some- 
times become  all  the  better  friends.  I  would  be 
made  count,  and  receive  the  grand  cordon  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  for  my  services.  But  I  care  less 
for  these  two  things  than  for  one  in  which  your 
interests  are  concerned. — You  have  not  yet  nomi- 
nated Rabourdin.  I  have  had  news  this  morning; 
you  will  give  more  general  satisfaction  by  appoint- 
ing Baudoyer — " 

**  Appointing  Baudoyer!"  cried  the  minister.  **  Do 
you  know  him?" 

"Yes,"  said  des  Lupeaulx;  "but  when  his  in- 
capacity shall  be  proved,  you  can  get  rid  of  him  by 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  305 

begging  his  protectors  to  employ  him  themselves. 
You  will  thus  gain  for  your  friends  an  important 
post,  and  it  may  facilitate  some  transaction  by  getting 
rid  of  ambitious  persons." 

"  I  have  promised  it  to  Rabourdin!" 

*'  Yes,  but  I  do  not  ask  you  to  change  your  mind, 
this  very  day.  I  know  the  danger  of  saying  yes 
and  no  in  the  same  day.  Postpone  the  nominations; 
you  can  sign  them  the  day  after  to-morrow.  Ah! 
well,  the  day  after  to-morrow,  you  must  recognize 
that  it  is  impossible  to  retain  Rabourdin,  from  whom, 
moreover,  you  will  receive  a  courteously  and  beau- 
tifully worded  resignation." 

*'His  resignation?" 

"Yes." 

"Why?" 

"He  is  the  tool  of  a  secret  power  for  which  he 
has  carried  on  a  system  of  spying  on  a  large  scale 
in  all  the  ministries,  and  this  thing  has  been  dis- 
covered by  chance.  Every  one  is  speaking  about 
it,  and  the  clerks  are  furious.  For  goodness  sake, 
do  not  transact  business  with  him  to-day.  Let  me 
find  a  way  for  you  to  dispense  with  him.  Go  to  the 
king's  palace.  I  am  sure  that  you  will  find  there 
many  who  will  be  pleased  with  your  concession  in 
regard  to  Baudoyer;  you  can  obtain  something  as 
an  equivalent.  Then  your  position  will  be  stronger 
later,  when  you  dismiss  this  fool,  because  he  will 
have  been,  so  to  speak,  thrust  upon  you." 

"  Who  has  caused  you  to  change  thus  on  the  score 
of  Rabourdin?" 
20 


306  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"Would  you  aid  Monsieur  de  Chateaubriand  in 
writing  an  article  against  the  ministry?  Ah!  well, 
see  how  Rabourdin  has  treated  me  in  his  document," 
he  said,  as  he  gave  his  paper  to  the  minister.  **  He 
would  organize  an  entire  government,  without  doubt 
in  the  interests  of  a  party  unknown  to  us.  I  will 
remain  his  friend,  so  that  I  can  watch  him;  I  believe 
I  will  be  able  to  render  some  great  service  which 
will  lead  me  to  be  made  a  peer,  for  the  peerage  is 
the  only  object  of  my  desires.  Know  well,  that  I 
wish  neither  the  ministry  nor  anything  else,  which 
might  thwart  your  career;  I  am  looking  toward 
the  peerage,  which  will  enable  me  to  marry  some 
banker's  daughter,  with  two  hundred  thousand 
francs  income.  So,  permit  me  to  render  you 
some  great  service,  which  will  cause  to  be  said  to 
the  king  that  I  have  saved  the  throne.  A  long  time 
ago  I  said:  Liberalism  will  not  offer  us  pitched  battle. 
It  has  given  up  conspiracies,  Carbonarism,  and 
fighting  with  weapons;  instead,  it  undermines  and 
makes  preparation  to  say:  "  Out  of  this,  that  I  may 
enter!"  Do  you  imagine  that  I  have  been  courting 
Rabourdin's  wife  for  my  own  pleasure?  No,  I  have 
gained  information!  Thus  there  are  two  things  to- 
day: the  postponement  of  the  appointment,  and  your 
sincere  support  of  my  election.  You  will  see  if, 
toward  the  end  of  the  session,  I  shall  not  have 
liberally  paid  my  debt  to  you." 

The  only  answer  the  minister  gave  was  that  he 
took  the  report  on  the  staff  and  handed  it  to  des 
Lupeaulx. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  307 

**  I  will  go  and  tell  Rabourdin,"  said  des  Lupeaulx, 
"that  you  will  put  off  the  matter  until  Saturday." 

The  minister  consented  by  a  nod  of  his  head. 
The  secretary's  office-boy  soon  hurried  into  the 
court-yard  to  Rabourdin's  office  to  tell  him  that  the 
matter  was  postponed  until  Saturday,  a  day  when 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  would  only  be  occupied 
considering  petitions,  and  when  the  minister  would 
have  the  entire  day  free.  Just  at  this  moment, 
Saillard  was  saying  his  sentence  to  the  minister's 
wife,  who  replied  to  him,  with  dignity,  that  she  never 
interfered  with  affairs  of  state,  and  that,  moreover, 
she  had  heard  it  said  that  Rabourdin  had  been 
appointed.  Saillard,  terrified,  rushed  up  to  Bau- 
doyer's  office,  where  he  found  Dutocq,  Godard  and 
Bixiou  in  a  state  of  exasperation  difficult  to  describe, 
for  they  were  reading  the  terrible  paper  which  Ra- 
bourdin had  written  about  the  clerks. 

BIXIOU — putting  his  finger  on  a  passage. 

"Here  is  as  to  you.  Papa  Saillard: — 'Saiilard. 
The  cashier  to  be  done  away  with  in  all  the  min- 
istries, and  the  account  of  their  current  expenses 
given  over  to  the  treasury.  Saillard  is  rich  and  has 
no  need  of  a  pension.'  Do  you  want  to  see  what  is 
said  about  your  son-in-law? — He  turns  the  page. — See: 
*BauD0YER.  Totally  incapable.  To  be  retired 
without  pension  because  he  is  rich.'  And  see  what 
is  stated  about  Godard  I — He  turns  a  new  leaf. — •  Godard. 
To  be  dismissed!  A  pension  of  one-third  of  his 
salary.*  In  short,  we  are  all  mentioned  in  this  arti- 
cle.   As  for  me,  1  am  described  as  *  an  artist  to  be 


308  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

employed  by  the  civil  list,  at  the  Opera,  at  the 
Menus-Plaisirs,  or  the  Museum.  A  great  deal  of 
ability,  but  very  little  stability;  incapable  of  applying 
himself,  and  of  a  restless  disposition.*  Ah!  I  will  let 
you  have  a  taste  of  my  artistic  abilities!" 

SAILLARD. 

**  To  suppress  the  cashiers?    What  a  monster!" 

BIXIOU. 
"  What  does  he  say  about  our  mysterious  Des- 

royS ? ' ' — He  turn  another  leaf  and  reads :     '  DESROYS.     A  dan- 

gerous  man,  inasmuch  as  he  cannot  be  moved  from 
his  principles,  which  are  directly  opposed  to  mon- 
archical power.  He  is  the  son  of  a  Conventionnel, 
and  so  he  admires  the  Convention.  He  may  be- 
come a  very  dangerous  publicist.*  '* 

BAUDOYER. 
"  The  police  are  not  so  clever  as  he!' 

GODARD. 
"I  shall  go  to  the  secretary -general  and  enter  a 
formal  complaint;   we  shall  all  have  to  resign  en 
masse  if  such  a  man  is  appointed.** 

DUTOCQ. 
"Listen  to  me,  gentlemen!  Be  prudent.  If  you 
rise  up  at  once,  we  shall  be  accused  of  vengeance 
and  self-interested  motives!  No,  let  the  news  spread 
abroad  quietly.  When  the  entire  administration  is 
aroused,  the  step  you  take  will  meet  with  general 
approval." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  309 

BIXIOU. 

'*  Dutocq  believes  in  the  principles  of  the  great  air 
composed  by  the  sublime  Rossini  for  Basilio,  which 
proved  that  this  great  composer  is  a  politician!  That 
seems  to  me  to  be  just  and  reasonable.  I  intend  to 
leave  my  card  at  Monsieur  Rabourdin's  to-morrow 
morning,  and  I  shall  only  have  BlXlOU  engraved  on 
it;  then,  instead  of  a  title  I  shall  write,  underneath, 
this  quotation  from  his  article  about  me:  very  little 
stability,  incapable  of  applying  himself  and  of  a  restless 
disposition." 

GODARD. 

**  A  good  idea,  gentlemen.  Let  us  all  have  our 
cards  engraved  with  his  sentiments  about  us,  and 
leave  them  at  Rabourdin's  to-morrow  morning." 

BAUDOYER. 
"Monsieur  Bixiou,  suppose  you  take  charge  of 
this  little  detail,  and  make  the  engraver  destroy  the 
plates  after  taking  the  first  proof." 

DUTOCQ — taking  Bixiou  apart 

"  Very  well;  will  you  design  the  caricature  now?", 

BIXIOU. 
"  I  understand,  my  dear,  that  you  have  been  in 
this  secret  for  the  last  ten  days. — He  looked  into  the  wwte* 
of  his  eyes. — ^Will  I  be  Chief -assistant?" 

DUTOCQ. 
"On  my  word  of  honor,  and  ^  thousand  francs 


3IO  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

bonus  you  will  have,  just  as  I  have  told  you.  You 
do  not  know  what  service  you  are  rendering  to  these 
powerful  personages." 

BIXIOU. 
"You  know  them,  then?" 

DUTOCQ. 
"Yes." 

BIXIOU. 
"  Ah!  well!    I  would  like  to  speak  to  them." 

DUTOCQ dryly. 

"Make  the  caricature  or  else  do  not  make  it,  as 
you  wish;  you  will  in  one  case  be  deputy -chief,  in 
the  other  case,  not." 

BIXIOU. 
"Ah,  well!     Let  us  see  the  thousand  francs!" 

DUTOCQ. 
"I  will  give  them  to  you  when  the  design  is  com- 
pleted." 

BIXIOU. 
"Forward!     That  caricature  shall  go  the  rounds 
of  the  offices  to-morrow.     Let  us  go  and  tease  the 

RabOUrdinS. — speaking  to  Salllard,  to  Godard,  and  to  Baudoyer,  who 

are  talking  together  in  a  low  voice. Wc  are  gOing  tO  inform  the 

neighbors. — He  goes  out  with  Dutocq  and  walks  to  Rabourdln's  office. 
On  his  approach,  Fleury,  Thuiliier,  and  VImeux  talk  in  a  more  animated 

manner. — Ah!  Well,  what  is  the  matter,  gentlemen? 
What  I  have  told  you  is  so  true,  that  you  can  see 
the  proof  of  the  most  infamous  of  accusations  at  the 
ofifice  of  the  virtuous,  honest,  estimable,  upright  and 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  3II 

pious  Baudoyer,  who  certainly  is  quite  incapable,  at 
least,  of  doing  anything  of  that  description.  Your 
chief  has  invented  a  kind  of  guillotine  for  the  clerks, 
that  is  certain;  go  and  see,  follow  the  crowd;  you 
need  not  pay  if  not  satisfied,  you  will  enjoy  your 
misfortune,  GRATIS!  The  appointments  are  also 
postponed.  All  the  offices  are  talking  about  it,  and 
Rabourdin  has  just  been  informed  that  the  minister 
will  not  work  with  him  to-day. — Let  us  go  now!" 

Phellion  and  Poiret  lived  alone.  The  first  thought 
too  much  of  Rabourdin  to  hasten  to  give  credence 
to  any  tale  which  would  destroy  a  man  whom  he 
did  not  wish  to  judge;  the  second  had  only  five 
days  more  to  remain  in  office.  At  this  moment 
Sebastien  came  down  to  hunt  for  those  whom  he 
expected  to  sign  the  papers.  He  was  astonished 
enough,  though  he  did  not  show  it,  on  finding  the 
office  deserted. 

PHELLION. 

* *My   young    friend — He  arose,  which  was  rather  unusual. — dO 

you  know  what  is  occurring,  what  means  all  this 
talk  about.  Monsieur   Rabourdin,  whom  you  love 

and — ^He  lowered  his  voice  and  approached  the  ear  of  S  Aastlen. — whom 

I  love  as  much  as  I  esteem?  It  is  said  that  he  has 
committed  the  imprudence  of  leaving  a  work  treating 
of   the  clerks,  lying  carelessly  about. — At  these  words 

Phellion  stops;  he  is  obliged  to  sustain  In  his  strong:  arms,  young  Sibastien, 
who  becomes  as  pale  as  a  white  rose  and  faints  in  the  chair. Put  a  key 

down  his  back.  Monsieur  Poiret!  Have  you  a 
key?" 


312  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

POIRET. 
**I  always  have  that  of  my  domicile."  The  old 
Poiret  Junior  put  his  key  down  Sebastien's  back, 
while  Phellion  made  him  drink  a  glass  of  cold  water. 
The  poor  youth  only  opened  his  eyes  to  weep 
violently.  He  rested  his  head  on  Phellion's  desk, 
overwhelmed;  his  body  was  as  limp  as  though 
struck  by  lightning,  and  his  sobs  were  so  penetrating, 
so  genuine,  so  frequent,  that  Poiret  was,  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life,  moved  by  another's  suffering;  then, 
— speaking  in  a  louder  voice — he  Said,  "Come,  my  young 
friend,  take  courage!  On  such  great  occasions,  it  is 
necessary.  You  are  a  man.  What  is  the  matter? 
Why  should  this  move  you  so  terribly?" 

SEBASTIEN — between  his  sobs. 

**  It  is  through  me  that  Monsieur  Rabourdin  is  lost! 
I  left  the  document  that  I  copied;  I  have  killed  my 
benefactor.  I  shall  die  of  it. — Such  a  great  man!  a 
man  who  would  have  been  minister!" 

POIRET — blowing  his  nose. 

"  It  is  then  true  that  he  wrote  reports?" 

SEBASTIEN — ^between  his  sobs. 

**  But  it  was  to — let  me  stop,  for  I  was  just  now 
about  to  tell  his  secrets!  Ah!  that  wretch  of  a 
Dutocq!    It  is  he  who  stole  it — " 

He  recommenced  to  weep  and  sob  so  frantic- 
ally that  Rabourdin,  in  his  office,  heard  the  noise, 
recognized  the  voice  and  hurried  up  stairs.     The 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  313 

chief  'ound  Sebastien  almost  in  a  fainting  condition, 
like  a  Christ,  resting  in  the  arms  of  Phellion  and 
Poiret,  who  represented  rather  grotesquely  the 
attitude  of  the  two  Marys,  and  whose  faces  were 
contracted  by  emotion. 

RABOURDIN. 

"What  is  the  matter,  gentlemen?'* — s«bM«enri$«ste 

bis  feet  and  then  kneels  before  Rabourdln. 

SEBASTIEN. 

*'  I  have  been  the  cause  of  your  ruin,  sir!  The 
document;  Dutocq,  the  monster,  he  has  doubtless 
taken  it." 

RABOURDIN— calmly. 
"  I  knew  it. He  raises  SIbastlen  and  leads  him  out. — YoU  are 

a  child,  my  friend. — He  addresses  Pheiiion. — Where  are 
these  gentlemen?'* 

PHELLION. 

"  Sir,  they  have  gone  into  Monsieur  Baudoyer's 
office  to  see  a  paper  which  it  is  said — '* 

RABOURDIN. 
**  Enough." — He  eoes  out,  taking  SIbastlen  with  him.    Pelretand 
Phellion  look  at  each  other  In  the  [greatest  surprise  and  do  not  know  what  to  say* 

POIRET — ^to  Phellion. 

"Monsieur  Rabourdin! — " 

PHELLION — to  Poiret 

"Monsieur  Rabourdin!" 

POIRET. 
*'  For  example.  Monsieur  Rabourdin! — f 


314  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

PHELLION. 
"  Have  you  see.n  how,  notwithstanding  all  this,  he 
remained  calm  and  dignified — ** 

POIRET — with  a  cunning  expression  which  resembied  a  ^Imace. 

**  I  would  not  be  surprised  if  there  was  something 
beneath  that." 

PHELLION. 
**  A  man  of  honor;  pure  and  stainless — " 

POIRET. 
"And  this  Dutocq?" 

PHELLION. 
**  Monsieur  Poiret,  your  opinion  of  Dutocq  is  the 
same  as  mine;  do  you  not  understand  me?" 

POIRET — strilcing  his  head  two  or  three  times. 
**  Yes." — ^All  the  clerics  now  enter. 

FLEURV. 

"  A  severe  blow!  and  even  after  having  read  it  I 
cannot  believe  it.  Monsieur  Rabourdin, — the  king 
of  men! — My  faith,  if  there  are  spies  among  such 
men,  it  is  enough  to  disgust  one  with  virtue.  I 
placed  Rabourdin  among  Plutarch's  heroes." 

VIMEUX. 
"Oh!  it  is  true!" 

POIRET — ^reflecting  that  he  Is  only  to  remain  in  office  five  days. 

**  But,  gentlemen,  what  do  you  say  about  the  man 
who  stole  the  paper,  who  laid  the  trap  for  Monsieur 

Rabourdin  ? ' ' — Dutocq  left  the  room. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  315 

FLEURY. 
"  He  is  a  Judas  Iscariot!    Who  is  he?** 

PHELUON — significantly. 

**  Surely  he  is  not  among  us." 

VIMEUX — with  animatioo. 

"  It  is  Dutocq." 

PHELUON. 
**  I  have  not  seen  the  proof,  sir.    While  you  were 
absent,  this  young  man,  Monsieur  de  la  Roche,  very 
nearly  died. — Lool<,  see  his  tears  on  my  desk! — '* 

POIRET. 

"We  held  him  fainting  in  our  arms — and  the 
key  of  my  house!    My,  my,  it  is  still  down  his 

back." — Point  goes  out 

VIMEUX. 

**  The  minister  did  not  wish  to  transact  business 
with  Monsieur  Rabourdin  to-day;  and  Monsieur 
Saillard,  to  whom  the  chief -of -staff  has  said  a  few 
words,  came  to  tell  Baudoyer  to  apply  for  the  Cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  On  New  Year's  Day  there 
is  one  accorded  to  the  division,  and  that  one  is  given 
to  Monsieur  Baudoyer.  Do  I  make  it  clear?  Mon- 
sieur Rabourdin  is  sacrificed  by  the  very  clerks  who 
make  use  of  him.  That  is  what  Bixiou  says.  We 
were  all  to  be  dismissed,  except  Phellion  and 
Sebastien." 

DU   BRUEL — entering. 

"Well,  gentlemen,  is  it  true?" 


3X6  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

THUILLIER. 
"To  the  last  syllable." 

DU  BRUEL — putting  on  his  hat 

"  Adieu,  gentlemen." — He  goes  out 

THUILLIER. 

**  He  finds  no  amusement  in  brilliant  repartee,  the 
vaudevillist!  He  goes  to  the  Due  de  Rhetore,  to  the 
Due  de  Maufrigneuse,  but  he  may  run!  It  is  said 
that  Colleville  will  be  our  chief."  ' 

PHELLION. 
"He    nevertheless     seemed    to    love     Mfisieur 
Rabourdin." 

POIRET — re-entering. 

"  I  have  had  a  world  of  trouble  to  get  back  the 
key  of  my  domicile!  That  boy  is  bathed  in  tears, 
and  Monsieur  Rabourdin  has  disappeared  com- 
pletely."— Dutocq  and  Bixiou  enter. 

BIXIOU. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,   strange    things    happen   in 

your     office!       Du     Bruel! — He  looks  in  Ws  private  ofSce.— 

Gone?" 

THUILLIER. 
"Out  on  business." 

BIXIOU. 
"And  Rabourdin?" 

FLEURV. 
"Disappeared,  distilled!    a  gone  coon  I    To  say 
that  a  man,  the  king  of  men! — " 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  317 

POIRET — ^to  Dutocq. 

"In  his  sorrow,  Monsieur  Dutocq,  the  little 
Sebastien  accuses  you  of  having  taken  the  paper 
ten  days  ago — " 

BIXIOU — looklne  at  Dutocq. 

"  You  must  clear  yourself  from  this  reproach,  my 

friend." — ^AH  the  clerks  look  steadily  at  Dutocq. 
DUTOCQ. 

"Where  is  he,  this  little  asp,  who  copied  it?" 

BIXIOU. 
"  How  do  you  know  that  he  copied  it?    My  dear 
friend,  only  a  diamond  will  polish  a  diamondl" — 

Dutocq  goes. 

POIRET. 

**  Listen,  Monsieur  Bixiou,  I  have  only  five  and 
a-half  days  to  remain  in  ofifice,  and  I  wish  for  once,  if 
only  for  once,  to  have  the  pleasure  of  understanding 
what  you  mean!  Be  so  kind  as  to  explain  in  what 
way  a  diamond  would  be  useful  in  this  case." — 

BIXIOU. 
"That  means,  papa,  for  I  wish,  for  once,  to 
descend  to  your  level,  that  just  as  it  takes  a  dia- 
mond to  cut  a  diamond,  so  it  takes  a  spy  to  catch  a 
spy." 

FLEURY. 
"  A  spy  is  put  here  to  spy." 

POIRET. 
"  1  do  not  understand — " 


3l8  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

BIXIOU. 
"Well,  let  it  be  for  another  time." 

Monsieur  Rabourdin  ran  to  the  minister's  house. 
The  minister  was  at  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 
Rabourdin  presented  himself  at  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  where  he  wrote  a  message  to  the  minister. 
The  minister  was  in  the  tribune,  engaged  in  a  heated 
discussion.  Rabourdin  waited,  not  in  the  conference 
hall,  but  in  the  court-yard,  and  decided,  notwith- 
standing the  cold,  to  take  a  position  in  front  of  His 
Excellency's  carriage,  so  that  he  could  speak  to  him 
as  he  entered.  The  usher  told  him  that  the  minis- 
ter was  engaged  in  the  midst  of  a  controversy  raised 
by  the  nineteen  members  of  the  extreme  Left,  and 
that  there  was  a  stormy  session.  Rabourdin  walked 
up  and  down  the  length  of  the  palace  court-yard — a 
prey  to  feverish  agitation — and  there  he  waited  for 
five  mortal  hours.  At  half-past  six  o'clock  the 
people  began  to  file  out;  but  the  minister's  footman 
came  up  to  hunt  for  the  coachman. 

"Hi!  Jean,"  he  called,  "Monseigneur  has  gone 
off  with  the  minister  of  war;  they  are  going  to  the 
king's,  and  afterwards  they  will  dine  together.  We 
are  to  go  for  him  at  ten  o'clock.  There  is  to  be  a 
meeting  of  the  Council." 

Rabourdin  walked  slowly  home,  in  a  state  of 
despondency  which  can  readily  be  imagined.  It 
was  seven  o'clock,  and  he  had  scarcely  time  to  dress. 

"Well,  you  are  appointed,"  said  his  wife  to  him 
joyously,  as  he  entered  the  parlor. 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  319 

Rabourdin  raised  his  head  in  a  very  melancholy 
way,  and  replied: 

"  I  have  good  cause  to  fear  that  I  shall  never 
more  set  foot  in  the  ministry." 

"What!"  said  his  wife,  agitated  by  extreme 
anxiety. 

"My  memorandum  on  the  officials  has  gone  the 
rounds  of  the  offices,  and  1  have  found  it  impossible 
to  see  the  minister." 

Celestine  had  a  rapid  vision,  in  which,  by  one  of 
those  infernal  flashes,  the  demon  showed  her  the 
meaning  of  her  last  conversation  with  des  Lupeaulx. 

"  If  I  had  conducted  myself  like  a  common 
woman,"  she  thought,  "we  would  have  had  the 
position." 

She  looked  at  Rabourdin  with  sorrow.  Silence 
fell  upon  them  both,  and  dinner  passed  amid  mutual 
meditations. 

"And  this  is  our  Wednesday  reception!"  she 
said. 

"  Everything  is  not  lost,  my  dear  Celestine,"  said 
Rabourdin,  as  he  kissed  his  wife's  forehead.  "  Per- 
haps I  can  speak  to  the  minister  to-morrow,  when 
everything  will  be  explained.  Sebastien  has  spent 
all  last  night  in  finishing  and  arranging  the  copies, 
and  I  shall  beg  the  minister  to  read  them,  by  placing 
them  all  on  his  desk.  La  Bri^re  will  assist  me. 
A  man  is  never  condemned  without  first  being 
heard." 

"  I  am  curious  to  know  if  Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx 
will  call  on  us  to-day." 


320  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"He? — Surely  he  will  not  be  absent,"  said  Ra- 
bourdin.  **  There  is  a  tiger  in  him;  he  loves  to  lick 
the  blood  of  the  wound  he  has  made!" 

**  My  poor  dear,"  replied  his  wife,  as  she  took  his 
hand,  "I  do  not  know  why  the  man  capable  of 
conceiving  so  noble  a  reform  did  not  see  that  it 
ought  not  to  be  communicated  to  any  one.  It  is 
one  of  those  ideas  that  a  man  keeps  to  himself,  for 
he  alone  can  apply  it.  You  must  do  in  your  sphere 
as  Napoleon  did  in  his;  he  yielded,  writhed,  cringed! 
Yes,  Bonaparte  cringed!  To  be  made  general-in- 
chief,  he  married  Barras's  mistress.  You  should 
have  waited,  got  yourself  appointed  deputy,  fol- 
lowed the  waves  of  politics,  sometimes  at  the 
depths  of  the  sea,  then  again  on  the  top  of  the 
waves,  and  you,  like  Monsieur  de  Vill^le,  should 
take  the  Italian  motto:  Col  tempo,  which  trans- 
lated means:  Everything  comes  to  him  who  waits. 
That  orator  sought  for  the  power  during  seven 
years;  he  began  in  1814  by  making  a  protestation 
against  the  Charter  at  the  same  age  you  are  now. 
See  your  fault!  You  are  kept  down,  when  you  are 
born  to  rule." 

The  entrance  of  the  painter,  Schinner,  imposed 
silence  on  the  wife  and  her  husband,  whom  these 
words  set  meditating. 

"Dear  friend,"  said  the  painter,  as  he  pressed 
the  administrator's  hand,  **  the  devotion  of  an  artist 
is  very  useless  to  you,  but,  under  these  circum- 
stances, we  remain  faithful,  we  artists!  I  have 
bought  the  evening  journal.     Baudoyer  is  nominated 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  321 

director  and  decorated  with  the  Cross  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor—" 

"  I  am  the  longest  there,  for  I  have  been  in  the 
service  twenty -four  years,"  said  Rabourdin,  smil- 
ingly. 

"  I  am  well  enough  acquainted  with  the  Count  de 
Serizy,  the  Minister  of  State;  if  you  wish  him  to 
come  to  your  assistance,  I  can  go  to  see  him,"  said 
Schinner. 

The  drawing-room  was  soon  filled  with  people  to 
whom  the  government  proceedings  were  unknown. 
Du  Bruel  did  not  come.  Madame  Rabourdin  re- 
doubled her  gaiety  and  her  gracefulness,  like  a  horse, 
which,  wounded  in  battle,  still  finds  strength  to 
carry  his  master. 

"She  is  exceedingly  brave,"  said  some  women, 
who  were  very  polite  to  her,  knowing  her  misfor- 
tunes. 

"She  has,  however,  done  a  great  deal  to  attract 
des  Lupeaulx,"  said  the  Baronne  de  Ch^telet  to  the 
Vicomtesse  de  Fontaine. 

"  Do  you  think  that — ?"  asked  the  vicomtesse. 

"  But  Monsieur  Rabourdin  should  at  least  have 
had  the  Cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honorl"  said  Madame 
de  Camps,  defending  her  friend. 

About  eleven  o'clock  des  Lupeaulx  appeared,  and 
the  best  way  to  describe  him  is  to  say  that  his  spec- 
tacles were  sad  and  his  eyes  gay,  but  the  glasses 
hid  the  expression  of  his  eyes  so  effectively  that  it 
would  have  required  a  physiognomist  to  discover 
their  diabolical  expression.     He  went  up  to  press 

21 


322  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Rabourdin's  hand,  who  was  forced  to  let  him 
take  it. 

"  We  have  much  to  talk  over  together,"  he  said, 
as  he  seated  himself  near  the  beautiful  Madame 
Rabourdin,  who  received  him  admirably. — "  Eh!" 
he  said,  throwing  her  a  side  glance,  "you  are  a 
grand  woman,  and  I  find  you  just  what  I  imagined, 
sublime  in  defeat.  Do  you  know  that  it  is  very 
rare  that  one  finds  a  superior  woman,  one  who  ful- 
fils the  idea  formed  of  her?  Does  not  the  defeat 
dishearten  you?  You  are  right;  we  shall  triumph," 
he  whispered  in  her  ear.  **  Your  fate  is  always  in 
your  hands,  while  you  have  for  an  ally  a  man  who 
adores  you.    We  will  take  counsel  together — " 

*'  But  is  not  Baudoyer  appointed?"  she  asked. 

**  Yes,"  said  the  secretary-general. 

"Has  he  received  the  decoration?" 

"Not  yet;  but  he  wiU." 

"Ah,  well!" 

"You  do  not  understand  politics." 

During  this  evening,  which  seemed  eternal  to 
Madame  Rabourdin,  another  scene  was  occurring 
in  the  Place  Royale — one  of  those  comedies  which 
are  played  in  seven  drawing-rooms  in  Paris  at  every 
change  of  ministry.  Saillard's  salon  was  crowded. 
Monsieur  and  Madame  Transon  arrived  at  eight 
o'clock;  Madame  Transon  embraced  Madame  Bau- 
doyer, nee  Saillard.  Monsieur  Bataille,  captain  of  the 
National  Guard,  came  accompanied  by  his  wife  and 
the  Curate  of  Saint-Paul. 

"Monsieur  Baudoyer,"  said  Madame  Transon,  "I 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  323 

wish  to  be  the  first  to  congratulate  you.  Your  talents 
have  been  appreciated;  you  have  well  earned  your 
promotion!" 

**And  you  are  really  director,'*  said  Monsieur 
Transon,  rubbing  his  hands;  "  that  is  very  flattering 
to  this  district." 

**  And  we  can  truly  say  that  it  has  been  accom- 
plished without  any  intrigue,"  said  Papa  Saillard. 
"  We  are  none  of  us  intriguers!  We  never  frequent 
the  select  evenings  at  the  minister's!" 

Uncle  Mitral  rubbed  his  nose  and  smiled.  He 
looked  at  his  niece,  Elisabeth,  who  was  talking  with 
Gigonnet.  Falleix  did  not  know  what  to  think  of 
the  obtuseness  of  Papa  Saillard  and  Baudoyer. 
Messieurs  Dutocq,  Bixiou,  Du  Bruel,  Godard  and 
Colleville — who  was  appointed  chief — entered. 

"What  a  set!"  said  Bixiou  to  Du  Bruel;  "what 
a  fine  caricature  they  would  make  drawn  as  gold- 
fish, dolphins  and  claquarts — the  vulgar  name  for 
shell -fish — all  dancing  a  sarabande!" 

"  Director,"  said  Colleville,  **  I  come  to  congratu- 
late you,  or  rather  we  congratulate  ourselves  that 
we  have  you  at  the  head  of  the  direction,  and  we 
have  come  to  assure  you  of  the  zeal  with  which  we 
will  co-operate  with  you  in  your  work." 

Monsieur  and  Madame  Baudoyer,  father  and 
mother  of  the  new  director,  were  present,  rejoicing 
in  the  honors  which  their  son  and  daughter-in- 
law  had  gained.  Uncle  Bidault,  who  had  dined  at 
home,  had  a  somewhat  impatient  air,  which  worried 
Bbdbu. 


324  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"There  is  one!"  said  the  artist  to  Du  Bruel,  as 
he  pointed  out  Gigonnet,  "  there  is  one  who  would 
maice  a  good  character  in  a  vaudeville!  How  much 
can  he  be  got  for?  Such  a  scarecrow  as  he  ought 
to  serve  as  the  sign  of  the  Deux  Magots.  And 
what  an  overcoat!  I  thought  that  Poiret  was  the 
only  one  who  could  show  such  a  one  as  this  after 
ten  years'  exposure  to  the  inclemencies  of  Paris 
weather." 

"  Baudoyer  is  magnificent,"  said  Du  Bruel. 

"Dazzling,"  answered  Bixiou. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Baudoyer,  addressing  them, 
"  here  is  my  own  uncle,  Monsieur  Mitral,  and  my 
great-uncle,  on  my  wife's  side,  Monsieur  Bidault." 

Gigonnet  and  Mitral  threw  a  penetrating  glance 
at  the  three  clerks,  which  left  the  impression  of 
wealth,  and  so  awed  the  two  laughers. 

"Hey!"  said  Bixiou,  when  they  had  gained  the 
interior  of  the  arcades  of  the  Place  Royale,  "did 
you  take  a  good  look  at  those  two  uncles.?  Two 
copies  of  Shylock.  They  lend,  I  bet,  in  the  market 
their  money  at  a  hundred  per  cent  a  week.  They 
lend  on  security,  they  sell  coats,  gold-lace,  cheese, 
women  and  children;  they  are  Arabs-German- 
Jews-Genoese-Greeks-Genevese-Lombards  and  Pa- 
risians, suckled  by  a  wolf,  and  born  of  a  Turkish 
mother." 

"  I  also  think  that  Uncle  Mitral  used  to  be  a 
sheriff's  officer,"  said  Godard. 

"Do  you  understand?"  said  Du  Bruel. 

"  I  am  going  to  see  the  proof  of  my  caricature," 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  325 

Bixiou  replied,  "but  I  want  very  much  to  study  what 
is  going  on  in  Madame  Rabourdin's  drawing-room: 
you  are  very  fortunate  to  be  privileged  to  go  there, 
Du  Bruel." 

"I?"  said  the  vaudevillist.  "  What  do  you  wish 
me  to  do  there?  My  face  does  not  lend  itself  to 
expressions  of  condolence.  Besides,  it  is  very  vulgar 
nowadays  to  go  and  see  people  who  are  down." 

By  midnight,  Madame  Rabourdin's  drawing-room 
was  deserted;  there  only  remained  two  or  three 
persons,  des  Lupeaulx  and  the  host  and  hostess. 
After  Schinner  and  Monsieur  and  Madame  Octave 
de  Camps  had  left,  des  Lupeaulx  arose  with  a 
mysterious  air,  placed  his  back  to  the  clock  and 
looked  by  turns  at  the  wife  and  her  husband. 

"  My  friends,"  he  said,  "  nothing  is  lost,  for  the 
minister  and  1  remain  on  your  side.  Dutocq, 
placed  between  two  powers,  has  chosen  the  side  he 
thought  the  stronger.  He  has  served  the  Grand 
Almonry  and  the  court,  he  has  betrayed  me;  that  is 
in  the  nature  of  things;  a  politician  never  complains 
of  treachery.  Even  Baudoyer  will  be  dismissed  in 
a  few  months,  and  will  doubtless  be  placed  in  the 
prefecture  of  police,  for  the  Grand  Almonry  will  not 
desert  him." 

Then  he  delivered  a  long  speech  about  the  Grand 
Almoner  and  the  dangers  the  government  ran  in 
relying  upon  the  church,  upon  the  Jesuits,  etc.  But  it 
is  not  useless  to  observe  that  the  court  and  the  Grand 
Almonry,  to  whom  the  liberal  journals  accorded 
an   enormous   influence   over   the   administration. 


326  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

were  very  little  concerned  in  the  Baudoyer  affair. 
These  petty  intrigues  died  in  the  high  sphere  in 
the  presence  of  the  great  interests  which  were  at 
stake.  If  a  few  words  were  extracted  by  impor- 
tunity from  the  Curate  of  Saint-Paul  and  Monsieur 
Gaudron,  the  application  would  be  killed  by  the  first 
remark  of  the  minister.  Passions,  alone,  would 
detect  any  wrong  in  the  Society  of  Jesuits  by  in- 
ducing the  members  to  denounce  each  other. — The 
occult  power  of  this  association,  readily  permitted  in 
presence  of  the  bold  society  of  the  doctrine  entitled 
"Heaven  helps  him  who  helps  himself,"  became 
formidable  only  through  the  action  with  which  its 
subordinates,  in  a  spirit  of  emulation,  endowed  it 
gratuitously  while  threatening  each  other  with  it. 
The  liberal  scandal  lovers  delighted  in  representing 
the  Grand  Almonry  as  a  political,  administrative, 
civil  and  military  giant.  Fear  always  makes  for 
itself  idols.  At  this  moment,  Baudoyer  had  firm 
faith  in  the  Grand  Almonry,  while  in  reality  the 
only  almoner  who  had  furthered  his  interests  was 
seated  in  the  Cafe  Themis.  At  certain  periods  there 
are  names,  institutions  and  powers  on  whom  all 
misfortunes  are  fastened,  whose  talents  are  not 
appreciated,  and  who  serve  as  co-efificient  reasoning 
to  fools.  Just  as  Monsieur  de  Talleyrand  was  sup- 
posed to  hail  every  event  by  a  bon  mot,  so,  in 
this  time  of  the  Restoration,  the  Grand  Almonry 
ordered  and  countermanded  everything.  Unhappily, 
it  did  not  do  or  undo  anything.  Its  influence  was 
neither  in  the  hands  of  a  Cardinal  Richelieu  nor  a 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  327 

Cardinal  Mazarin;  but  in  the  hands  of  a  sort  of 
Cardinal  de  Fleury,  who  hesitated  during  five 
years,  then  one  day  made  a  bold  stroke,  which, 
however,  was  in  the  wrong  direction.  Later,  the 
doctrine  did  with  impunity  at  Saint-Merri  more 
than  Charles  X.  pretended  to  do  in  July,  1830. 
Without  the  article  on  the  censorship  so  foolishly 
inserted  in  the  new  charter,  journalism  would 
also  have  had  its  Saint-Merri.  The  Younger 
Branch  would  have  legally  executed  the  plans  of 
Charles  X. 

"  Remain  chief  of  bureau  under  Baudoyer,  have 
that  much  courage,"  des  Lupeaulx  replied;  "be  a 
true  politician;  thrust  aside  generous  thoughts  and 
actions,  absorb  yourself  in  your  official  duties;  do 
not  say  a  word  to  your  director,  give  him  no  advice, 
do  nothing  without  an  order  from  him.  In  three 
months,  Baudoyer  will  be  obliged  to  leave  the 
ministry;  he  will  either  be  dismissed  or  transported 
to  another  administrative  shore.  Perhaps  he  will  be 
given  a  place  in  the  king's  household.  Twice  in  my 
life  it  has  happened  that  I  have  been  thus  crushed 
under  an  avalanche  of  foolery.  I  have  let  it  pass 
over  me." 

"Yes,"  said  Rabourdin,  "but  you  were  not 
calumniated,  your  honor  was  not  attacked,  com- 
promised." 

"Ah!  ah!  ah!"  said  des  Lupeaulx,  interrupting 
the  head  of  the  ofifice  with  Homeric  laughter,  "  but 
that  is  the  daily  bread  of  every  remarkable  man  in 
this  beautiful  country  of  France;  and  there  are  two 


328  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

ways  of  meeting  it;  to  succumb  to  it  by  packing  up 
and  retiring  to  the  country,  or  to  rise  above  it  and 
march  forward,  fearlessly,  not  even  turning  your 
head." 

"  For  me,  there  is  but  one  way  of  untying  the 
slip-knot  which  espionage  and  treason  have  placed 
around  my  neck,"  Rabourdin  replied,  *' and  that  is 
to  offer  an  immediate  explanation  to  the  minister, 
and  if  you  are  as  sincerely  attached  to  me  as  you  say, 
you  will  place  me  face  to  face  with  him  to-morrow." 

"  You  wish  to  explain  to  him  your  plan  of  admin- 
istration?" 

Rabourdin  bowed  in  assent. 

"Well,  then,  confide  to  me  your  plans,  your 
memoranda,  and  I  swear  to  you  that  he  will  pass 
the  night  examining  them." 

*'  Let  us  go  to  him,  then,"  quickly  replied 
Rabourdin,  "  for  it  is  the  least  that  can  be  expected 
that,  after  six  months  of  work  on  my  part,  I  should 
have  the  satisfaction  of  possessing  two  or  three 
hours,  when  the  king's  minister  might  be  forced  to 
give  his  approval  of  all  this  perseverance." 

Compelled  by  Rabourdin *s  tenacity  to  no  longer 
beat  about  the  bush  where  his  ruse  might  have 
taken  shelter,  des  Lupeaulx  hesitated  for  a  moment 
and  regarded  Madame  Rabourdin  while  he  said  to 
himself: 

**  Which  will  win,  my  hatred  for  him  or  my 
liking  for  her?" 

"If  you  have  no  confidence  in  me,"  he  said  to 
the  chief  of  the  office,  after  a  pause,  "  I  see  that  for 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  329 

me  you  will  always  be  the  man  who  keeps  his  own 
counsel.     Adieu,  Madame." 

Madame  Rabourdin  bowed  coldly.  Celestine  and 
Xavier  retired,  going  their  separate  ways,  without 
saying  a  word,  so  much  were  they  oppressed  by 
misfortune.  The  wife  dreamed  of  the  dreadful 
situation  in  which  she  stood  toward  her  husband. 
The  chief  of  the  bureau,  who  was  making  up  his 
mind  never  again  to  put  his  foot  in  the  ministry, 
and  resolving  to  send  in  his  resignation,  was 
lost  in  the  magnitude  of  his  reflections.  This 
meant  that  he  would  have  to  change  his  life  and 
follow  some  new  pursuit.  He  remained  all  night 
before  his  fire,  without  perceiving  Celestine,  who 
came  in  several  times  on  tip-toe,  in  her  night- 
dress. 

"As  I  must  go  one  last  time  to  the  ministry  to 
bring  away  my  papers  and  to  assist  Baudoyer  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  routine,  let  us  try  the 
effect  of  my  resignation,"  he  said  to  himself. 

He  wrote  his  resignation,  and  thought  out  the 
phraseology  of  the  letter  containing  it,  which  is  as 
follows: 

"  Monseigneur :  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  to  Your  Ex- 
cellency my  resignation  in  this  envelope;  but  1  dare  to  believe 
that  you  remember  having  heard  me  say  that  I  have  placed 
my  honor  in  your  hands,  and  that  that  honor  depends  upon 
an  immediate  explanation.  I  have  vainly  sought  it,  and 
now  it  may  perhaps  be  useless,  for  a  fragment  of  my  work 
relating  to  the  administration,  stolen  and  distorted,  is  going 
the  rounds  of  the  offices,  is  interpreted  amiss  by  malice,  and 
forces  me  to  retire  before  the  tacit  condemnation  of  those  in 


330  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

power.  Your  Excellency  may  have  thought  that  on  the 
morning  I  wished  to  speak  to  you,  1  sought  promotion, 
when,  in  reality,  I  sought  only  the  glory  of  your  ministry 
and  the  public  good.  It  is  important  that  I  should  rectify 
your  impression  in  this  matter." 

Then  followed  the  usual  forms  of  respect. 


It  was  half-past  seven,  when  this  man  had  con- 
summated the  sacrifice  of  his  ideas,  for  he  had 
burned  his  whole  work.  Fatigued  by  his  reflections, 
and  overcome  by  nervous  strain,  he  fell  asleep,  his 
head  resting  on  his  arm-chair.  He  was  awakened  by 
a  curious  sensation;  he  found  that  his  hands  were 
covered  by  the  tears  of  his  wife,  who  was  kneeling 
before  him.  Celestine  had  just  read  the  resignation. 
She  had  measured  the  depth  of  his  fall.  She  and 
Rabourdin  would  now  be  reduced  to  an  income  of 
four  thousand  francs.  She  had  summed  up  her 
debts,  and  they  amounted  to  thirty-two  thousand 
francs!  This  was  the  most  ignoble  of  all  disasters. 
And  that  noble  and  confiding  man  had  no  idea  how 
she  had  misspent  the  fortune  confided  to  her  care. 
She  was  sobbing  at  his  feet,  as  beautiful  as  Mag- 
dalen. 

"Our  unhappiness  is  complete,"  said  Xavier,  in 
his  terror;  "  I  am  dishonored  before  the  ministry, 
and  dishonored — " 

The  light  of  pure  honor  shone  in  Celestine's  eyes, 
she  sprang  up  like  a  startled  horse,  and  cast  a 
withering  glance  at  Rabourdin. 

"I!  //'*  she  said,  in  two  sublime  tones.     "Am  I 
a  common  woman?    Would  you  not  have  been 
appointed  if  I  had  been  false?    But,"  she  atddedc 
"  It  is"  ea^T  td  btelifevte  that  than  the  truth." 
(33X) 


332  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

"What  is  it?"  said  Rabourdin. 

"All  can  be  told  in  two  words,"  she  replied. 
"We  owe  thirty  thousand  francs." 

Rabourdin  seized  his  wife  with  a  fond  gesture,  and 
seated  her  joyfully  on  his  knee. 

"  Console  yourself,  my  dear,"  he  said,  in  a  tone 
of  voice  so  exceedingly  kind  as  to  change  the  bitter- 
ness of  her  tears  into  inexpressible  tenderness.  "  I, 
too,  I  have  committed  faults!  I  have  worked  to  no 
purpose  for  my  country,  or  at  least  I  thought  that  I 
was  making  myself  useful  to  it. — Now  I  am  going 
to  walk  along  another  path.  If  I  had  sold  groceries, 
instead,  we  would  have  been  millionaires.  Ah,  well, 
let  us  be  grocers.  You  are  only  twenty-eight  years 
old,  my  angel!  Well,  ten  years  from  now,  industry 
will  bring  you  the  luxury  you  love  so  well,  and 
which  we  must  renounce  for  awhile.  I,  also,  dear 
child,  I  am  not  an  ordinary  husband.  We  will  sell 
our  farm!  It  has  gained  in  value  these  seven  years. 
This  increased  value  added  to  the  sale  of  our  furni- 
ture will  pay  my  debts." 

She  embraced  her  husband  a  thousand  times  in  a 
single  kiss,  for  having  spoken  so  generously  to  her. 

"  We  will  have,"  he  replied,  "  a  hundred  thousand 
francs  to  put  into  some  business.  In  less  than  a 
month  I  shall  have  chosen  some  enterprise.  Fate, 
which  gave  Saillard  a  Martin  Falleix,  will  not  desert 
us.  Wait  breakfast  for  me.  I  will  return  from 
the  ministry  with  my  neck  free  from  the  yoke  of 
misery." 

Celestine  pressed  her  husband  in  her  arms  with 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  333 

a  force  which  men  do  not  possess  even  in  their  most 
impassioned  moments,  for  woman  is  stronger  in  her 
emotions  than  man  is  by  his  power.  She  wept, 
laughed,  sobbed  and  spoke  altogether. 

When  Rabourdin  departed  at  eight  o'clock,  the 
porter  handed  him  the  satirical  cards  of  Baudoyer, 
Bixiou,  Godard  and  others.  Nevertheless  he  went 
to  the  ministry  and  found  Sebastien  waiting  for  him 
at  the  door,  for  the  purpose  of  entreating  him  not  to 
enter  the  offices,  where  an  infamous  caricature  of 
him  was  going  the  rounds. 

"  If  you  wish  to  sweeten  the  bitterness  of  my 
fall,  bring  me  this  drawing,"  he  said,  "for  I  am  now 
carrying  my  resignation  myself  to  Ernest  de  la 
Bri^re,  so  that  it  will  not  be  distorted  while  passing 
through  the  administrative  routine.  I  have  my  own 
reasons  for  asking  you  for  the  caricature." 

When,  after  making  sure  that  the  letter  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  minister,  Rabourdin  returned  to  the 
court-yard,  he  found  Sebastien  in  tears,  and  he  pre- 
sented him  (Rabourdin)  with  the  lithograph,  the  prin- 
cipal feature  of  which  can  be  seen  on  the  next  page. 

"  It  is  very  cleverly  done,"  said  Rabourdin,  while 
presenting  a  serene  front  toward  the  supernumerary, 
just  as  the  Saviour  did  when  the  crown  of  thorns 
was  placed  upon  His  head. 

He  entered  the  offices  with  a  calm  air,  and  went 
first  to  Baudoyer's  office  to  beg  him  to  come  in  the 
office  of  the  division  to  receive  from  him  the  instruc- 
tions relative  to  the  business  that  this  man  of 
routine  was  henceforth  to  direct. 


334 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 


y 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  335 

"Tell  Monsieur  Baudoyer  that  this  brooks  no 
delay,"  he  added,  before  Godard  and  his  clerks; 
"  my  resignation  is  in  the  hands  of  the  minister, 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  remain  even  five  minutes  longer 
than  necessary  in  the  ofifices!" 

Perceiving  Bixiou,  Rabourdin  went  straight  up 
to  him,  showed  him  the  lithograph,  and,  to  the 
great  astonishment  of  everyone,  said  to  him:  "  Am 
I  not  right  in  saying  you  are  an  artist?  It  is  only  a 
pity  that  you  have  directed  the  point  of  your  pencil 
against  a  man  who  cannot  be  judged  in  this  way, 
nor  by  the  administrative  bureaus, — but  everything 
causes  a  laugh  in  France,  even  God!" 

Then  he  led  Baudoyer  into  the  office  of  the  late 
La  Billardi^re.  At  the  door  were  Phellion  and 
Sebastien,  the  only  ones  who,  in  this  particularly 
distressing  crisis,  had  dared  to  remain  openly  faithful 
to  the  accused.  Rabourdin  saw  that  Phellion's  eyes 
were  wet,  and  he  could  not  withstand  pressing  his 
hand. 

"Sir,"  said  the  good  man,  "if  we  can  be  of  ser- 
vice to  you  in  any  way,  make  use  of  us — " 

"Enter,  then,  my  friends,"  said  Rabourdin,  with 
a  noble  grace. — "Sebastien,  my  child,  write  your 
resignation  and  send  it  by  Laurent;  you  should  be 
enveloped  in  the  calumny  which  has  overturned  me. 
But  I  shall  have  a  care  over  your  future;  we  shall 
not  be  separated." 

Sebastien  was  bathed  in  tears. 

Monsieur  Rabourdin  shut  himself  up  in  the  late 
La  Billardi^re's  office  with  Monsieur  Baudoyer,  and 


336  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

Phellion  assisted  him  in  placing  before  the  new  chief 
of  division  all  the  administrative  difficulties.  At 
each  package  of  papers  which  Rabourdin  explained, 
at  each  portfolio  opened,  Baudoyer's  small  eyes 
grew  as  large  as  saucers. 

**  Adieu,  sir,"  Rabourdin  said  at  last,  with  a  man- 
ner both  solemn  and  satirical. 

Meanwhile,  S^bastien  had  made  a  parcel  of  the 
papers  belonging  to  the  chief  of  the  office,  and  had 
taken  them  off  in  a  cab.  Rabourdin  passed  out 
through  the  minister's  large  court-yard,  where  all 
the  clerks  were  at  the  windows;  he  waited  there  a 
moment  for  orders  from  the  minister.  The  minister 
did  not  move.  Phellion  and  Sebastien  accompanied 
Rabourdin.  Phellion  bravely  escorted  the  fallen 
man  to  Rue  Duphot,  and  showed  him  a  respectful 
admiration.  Then  he  returned,  satisfied  with  him- 
self, and  took  his  place,  after  having  paid  the  funeral 
honors  to  unappreciated  administrative  talent. 

BIXIOU — seting  Phellion  enter. 

"yictrix  causa  diis  placuit,  sed  victa  Caioni." 

PHELLION. 

"Yes,  sir." 

POIRET. 
"What  does  that  mean?'* 

FLEURY. 

"That  the  priests*  party  has  triumphed,  and  that 
Monsieur  Rabourdin  has  the  respect  of  men  of 
honor.'* 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  337 

DUTOCQ — piqued. 

"  You  did  not  say  that  yesterday." 

FLEURY. 
"  If  you  speak  to  me  again,  you  will  have  my  fist 
in  your  face,  you!    It  is  certain  that  you  have  stolen  ' 
Monsieur  Rabourdin's  papers. — Dutocq  leaves. — Go,  com-, 
plain  to  your  Monsieur  des  Lupeaulx,  spy!" 

BIXIOU — ^laughing:  and  making  grimaces  like  a  monkey. 

"  I  am  curious  to  know  how  the  division  will  get 
along?  Monsieur  Rabourdin  was  such  a  wonderful 
man  that  he  must  have  had  an  especial  purpose  in 
writing  that  work.    The  ministry  loses,  in  him,  a 

famous  chief." — He  rubs  Ws  hands. 

LAURENT. 
"  Monsieur  Fleury  is  requested  at  the  secretary's 
office." 

THE  CLERKS  OF  TWO  OFFICES. 
**  Done  for." 

FLEURY— leavlne. 

"  It  is  all  the  same  to  me,  I  have  a  position  as 
responsible  editor.  I  shall  have  the  whole  day  to 
myself  to  amuse  myself  or  to  fill  some  sparkling 
page  in  the  daily  paper." 

BIXIOU. 
"Dutocq  has  already  dismissed  poor  Desroys, 
accused  of  trying  to  cut  off  heads."— 

THUILLIER. 
"Of  Kings?"— 
aa 


338  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

BIXIOU. 
"  Receive  my  compliments. — That  is  a  fine  saying, 
thatl" 

COLLEVILLE — entering  Joyously. 

"Gentlemen,  I  am  your  chief — " 

THUILLIER — embracing  Collevllle. 

**  Ah!  my  friend,  were  I  in  your  place,  I  would  not 
be  so  well  pleased." 

BIXIOU. 
"It  is  his  wife's    doings,  and    has    been  well 

planned." Roars  of  Uughter. 

POIRET. 

"  Let  some  one  tell  me  the  meaning  of  what  has 
happened  to-day?" — 

BIXIOU. 
"  Do  you  really  want  to  know?  The  ante- 
chamber of  the  administration  will  be  a  chamber, 
the  court  its  boudoir,  the  usual  entrance  will  be 
through  the  cellar,  and  the  bed  is  more  than  ever 
the  private  path  of  communication." 

POIRET. 
"  Monsieur  Bixiou,  I  pray  you  to  explain  your- 
self." 

BIXIOU. 

"  I  will  paraphrase  my  words.     In  order  to  be 

something,  one  must  begin  by  being  everything. 

Evidently,  an  administrative  reform  is  needed;  for, 

on  my  word  of  honor,  the  state  robs  its  officials  as 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  339 

much  as  the  ofificials  rob  the  state  as  regards  hours; 
but  we  work  little  because  we  receive  next  to 
nothing.  There  are  too  many  of  us  for  the  work  to 
be  done,  and  my  Virtuous- Rabourdin  saw  that! 
Gentlemen,  this  great  official  foresaw  what  would 
happen,  what  these  idiots  call  the  working  of  our 
admirable  liberal  institutions.  The  Chamber  of 
Deputies  will  want  to  administrate,  and  the  admin- 
istrators will  desire  to  become  legislators.  The 
government  will  try  to  administrate  and  the  admin- 
istration will  aspire  to  govern.  Thus  the  laws  will 
become  mere  regulations,  and  the  ordinances  will 
become  the  laws.  God  made  this  epoch  to  create 
laughter.  I  live  in  the  admiration  of  the  spectacle 
which  the  greatest  wit  of  modern  times,  Louis  XVIII., 
has  prepared  for  us. — General  consternation. — Gentlemen, 
if  France,  the  best  ruled  country  of  Europe,  is  thus, 
judge  what  must  be  the  condition  of  the  others.? 
Unhappy  countries,  I  ask  myself  how  they  can  exist 
without  two  Chambers,  without  the  liberty  of  the 
press,  without  the  reports  or  memoranda,  without 
circulars,  without  an  army  of  clerks! — Ah!  dear! 
How  do  they  maintain  armies  and  navies?  How  do 
they  exist  without  discussing  at  every  breath  they 
draw,  and  at  every  mouthful  they  eat.? — Can  these 
be  called  governments,  nations?  I  am  upheld  in  my 
opinion— travelers'  tales— that  these  people  pretended 
to  have  a  system  of  politics,  and  that  they  wield  a 
certain  influence;  but  I  pity  them!  They  have  not 
enlightened  progress,  they  cannot  start  an  idea, 
they  have  no  independent  tribunes,  they  are  yet  in 


340  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

a  state  of  barbarism.  The  French  people  alone  have 
ideas.  You  understand.  Monsieur  Poiret, — Poiretwas 
•tunned  «3  by «  blow. — how  3.  nation  Can  dispense  with 
chiefs  of  divisions,  directors-general,  and  the  beau- 
tiful staff,  the  glory  of  France  and  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon, — who  had  sufficient  reason  for  creating 
positions.  See  how  these  nations  have  the  audacity 
to  exist,  and  that  in  Vienna  there  can  be  counted 
nearly  a  hundred  clerks  in  the  war  department, 
while  with  us  the  salaries  and  the  pensions  amount 
to  the  third  of  the  budget,  a  thing  that  was  not 
thought  of  before  the  Revolution.  I  will  resume  by 
saying  that  the  Academy  of  Inscriptions  and  Belles- 
Lettres,  which  has  very  little  to  do,  should  offer  a 
prize  for  the  man  who  can  solve  this  question: 
'  JVhich  State  is  the  better  organised,  the  one  that 
accomplishes  great  things  with  few  officials,  or  the  one 
which  accomplishes  little  with  many  officials?*" 

POIRET. 
•*  Is  that  your  last  word?" 

BIXIOU. 
**YeSt  sir! — Ya,  mein  herrl — Si,  signer!  Da! — I  will 
'excuse   you  from    hearing   this    same    sentiment 
expressed  in  the  remaining  languages." 

POIRET — Hftlne  his  band*  to  heaven. 

"My  God,  and  people  say  that  you  are  wittyl" 

BIXIOU. 
"You  have  not,  then,  understood  me?" 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  341 

PHELLION. 
"Your  last  remark  was,  however,  quite  sen- 
sible—" 

BIXIOU. 
"Just  like  the  budget,  as  complicated  as  it 
appeared  to  be  simple.  I  place  it  before  you  as  a 
beacon,  at  the  edge  of  this  hole,  this  abyss,  this 
volcano  called  by  The  Constitutionnel,  *  the  politi- 
cal horizon.'  ** 

POIRET. 
"  I  would  prefer  an  explanation  within  my  under- 
standing— '* 

BIXIOU. 
"Long    live  Rabourdin! — there  is  my  opinion. 
Are  you  satisfied?" 

COLLEVILLE — seriously. 

"  Monsieur  Rabourdin  had  but  one  defect." 

POIRET. 
"What?" 

COLLEVILLE. 
"That  of  being  a  statesman  instead  of  a  head- 
clerk." 

PHELLION — standlne  before  Blxlou. 

"Why,  sir,  did  you,  who  understood  Monsieur 
Rabourdin  so  well,  why  did  you  make  that  ign — 
that  inf — that  hideous  caricature?" 

BIXIOU. 
"  And  our  bet?    Do  you  forget  that  I  was  playing 
the  devil's  part,  and  that  your  bureau  owes  me  a 
dinner  at  the  Rocker  de  CancaUV* 


342  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

POIRET— veiy  much  annoyed. 

"  It  is  then  settled  that  I  am  to  leave  the  office 
without  ever  having  been  able  to  understand  a 
sentence,  a  word,  a  thought  uttered  by  Monsieur 
Bixiou." 

BIXIOU. 

"  That  is  your  own  fault!  Ask  these  gentlemen  — 
Gentlemen,  have  you  understood  the  purport  of  my 
remarks?    Were  they  true?     Were  they  clear?'* 

ALL. 
"  Alas,  yes!*' 

MINARD. 

"And  the  proof  is  that  1  have  just  written  my 
resignation.  Adieu,  gentlemen;  I  shall  plunge  into 
trade—" 

BIXIOU. 

"  Have  you  invented  mechanical  corsets  or  babies' 
feeding-bottles,  fire-engines  or  dashboards,  chimneys 
which  consume  no  fuel,  or  ranges  which  cook  cutlets 
with  three  sheets  of  paper?" 

MINARD leaving. 

"I  shall  keep  my  secret." 

BIXIOU. 
*'Ah!  well,  young  Poiret,  junior,  you  see — ^all 
these  gentlemen  understand  me." — 

POIRET — humiliated. 

"  Monsieur  Bixiou,  will  you  do  me  the  honor  for 
once  of  descending  to  my  level  sufificiently  to  speak 
in  a  way  I  can  understand?" — 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  343 

BIXIOU — casting  a  side  glance  at  the  clerks. 
**  Cheerfully. — He  catches  Poiret  by  the  button  of  his  overcoat— 

Before  you  leave  this  place,  perhaps  you  would  be 
glad  to  know  what  you  are — " 

POIRET— quickly. 

"  An  honest  man,  sir." 

BIXIOU — shrugglne  his  shoulders. 

— "  To  define,  to  explain,  to  fathom,  to  analyze 
what  a  government  clerk  is? — Do  you  know  what  he 
is?" 

POIRET. 
"I  believe  1  do." 

BIXIOU — ^twisting  the  button. 

"I  doubt  it." 

POIRET. 

"He  is  a  man  paid  by  the  government  to  do 
work." 

BIXIOU. 
"  Evidently;  thus  a  soldier  is  a  clerk?*' 

POIRET — embarrassed. 

"  But,  no." 

BIXIOU. 

"  Nevertheless,  he  is  paid  by  the  government  to 
mount  guard  and  pass  in  review.  You  would  tell 
me  that  he  has  a  great  desire  to  leave  his  place,  that 
he  is  too  rarely  in  his  place,  that  he  works  too  hard 
and  generally  touches  too  little  metal,  always  ex- 
cepting the  metal  of  which  his  gun  is  made." 


344  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

POIRET — sUrIng, 

"Ah!  well,  sir,  a  government  clerk  is,  speaking 
more  logically,  a  man  who  depends  on  his  salary  for 
his  livelihood,  and  who,  therefore,  is  not  free  to  leave 
his  position,  for  he  does  not  know  how  to  do  any- 
thing else  than  to  draw  up  papers." 

BIXIOU. 

**  Ah!  we  are  about  to  arrive  at  a  solution: — thus 

the  ofifice  is  the  clerk's  shell.    There  could  be  no  clerk 

without  the  ofifice,  no  ofifice  without  the  clerk.     But 

what,  then,  do  you  call  the  custom-house  officer? — 

Polret  begins  to  fidget,  and  tries  to  escape  Bixlou,  who  has  twisted  off  one  of 
his  buttons,  and  catches  hira  by  another. — Bah!    he   iS,   from    the 

bureaucratic  point  of  view,  a  neutral  being.  The 
custom-house  officer  is  only  half  a  clerk;  he  is  on 
the  confines  between  the  offices  and  the  army,  as 
on  the  frontiers;  neither  altogether  a  soldier,  nor 
yet  altogether  a  clerk.  But,  papa,  where  are  we 
now? — He  twists  a  button. — When  does  the  government 
clerk  cease  to  exist?  A  grave  question!  Is  a  pre- 
fect a  clerk?" 

POIRET — timidly. 

"  He  is  a  functionary." 

BIXIOU. 
"Ah!  you  make  the  mistake  of  stating  that  a 
functionary  is  not  a  clerk!" — 

POIRET — fatigued,  glances  at  all  the  clerics. 

"  Monsieur  Godard  looks  as  though  he  had  some- 
thing to  say." 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  345 

GODARD. 
"The  clerk  is  the  order,  the  functionary  is  a 
species." 

BIXIOU— smillnff. 

"I  did  not  believe  you  capable  of  making  this 
ingenious  distinction,  brave  subordinate." 

POIRET. 
**  How  much  further  are  we  going?" 

BIXIOU. 
"There!  there!  old  man,  do  not  step  on  your 
tether! — Listen,  and  we  will  ere  long  understand 
each  other.  See,  let  us  lay  down  a  maxim  which  I 
bequeath  to  the  bureaus.  Where  the  clerk  ends, 
the  functionary  begins;  where  the  functionary  ends, 
the  statesman  begins.  There  are,  however,  few 
statesmen  among  the  prefects.  The  prefects  in  that 
case  would  represent  a  neutral,  but  superior,  class. 
They  would  find  themselves  half-way  between  the 
statesman  and  the  clerk,  just  as  the  custom-house 
ofificer  is  placed  between  the  civil  and  military 
departments.  Let  us  continue  to  explain  these 
important  questions. — Poiret  blushes. — Cannot  this  be 
formulated  on  this  theory  worthy  of  a  Rochefou- 
cauld: Those  who  receive  over  twenty  thousand 
francs  salary  cease  to  be  clerks.  We  can  deduce 
mathematically  this  first  corollary:  the  statesman 
is  apparent  in  the  matter  of  superior  salaries,  and 
this  not  less  important  and  logical  second  corollary! 
directors-general  may  become  statesmen.  Perhaps 
it  is  in  this  sense  that  more  than  one  deputy  says  to 


346  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

himself:  *It  is  a  fine  thing  to  be  director-general!' 
But  in  the  interest  of  the  French  language  and  the 
Academy — ** 

POIRET — magnetized  by  the  steadiness  of  Bixiou's  glanct. 

"  The  French  language! — The  Academy! — " 

BIXIOU — He  twists  off  a  second  button  and  seizes  an  upper  button. 

**  Yes,  in  the  interest  of  our  beautiful  language,  it 
should  be  observed  that,  if  the  chief  of  a  bureau 
may  occasionally  be  a  clerk,  the  head  of  a  division 
must  be  a  bureaucrat.     These  gentlemen, — he  turns 

toward  the  clerks,  as  he  shows  them  a  third  button  twisted  off  Poiret's  coat— • 

these  gentlemen  will  appreciate  this  delicate  shade  of 
meaning. — Thus,  Papa  Poiret,  the  government  clerk, 
ends  by  becoming  chief  of  the  division.  This  is  the 
question  well  settled,  there  no  longer  remains  any 
uncertainty;  the  government  clerk  who  has  seemed 
undefinable  is  defined." 

POIRET. 
"  That  seems  to  me  to  be  beyond  doubt." 

BIXIOU. 
"Nevertheless,  do  me  the  kindness  to  answer 
.this  question:  A  judge  being  irremovable,  and  con- 
sequently debarred  from  being,  according  to  your 
subtle  distinction,  a  functionary,  and  not  having  a 
salary  in  proportion  to  his  work,  should  he  be  in- 
cluded in  the  class  of  clerks?" — 

POIRET — loolting  at  the  cornice. 

"Sir,  I  do  not  understand  you." — 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  347 

BIXIOU — twisting  off  a  fourth  button. 

"  I  am  trying  to  prove  to  you,  sir,  that  nothing  is 
simple;  but,  above  all,  and  what  I  am  going  to  say 
is  meant  for  philosophers — if  you  will  allow  me  to 
travesty  a  saying  of  Louis  XVIII. — I  wish  to  show 
that,  apart  from  the  necessity  of  definitions,  one  is 
often  led  into  quarrels." 

POIRET — ^wipIng  his  forehead. 

"Pardon,  sir,  I  have  a  pain  in  my  heart. — He  tries 
to  button  his  coat. — Ah!  you  have  cut  off  all  my  buttons!" 

BIXIOU. 
"Ah!  well,  do  you  understand?" 

POI  RET — discontentedly. 

"  Yes,  sir, — yes,  I  understand  that  you  have  tried 
to  play  a  very  bad  joke  on  me  by  cutting  off  my 
buttons,  without  my  knowledge." — 

BIXIOU — seriously. 

"  Old  man,  you  are  mistaken.  I  desired  to  engrave 
in  your  brain  the  most  vivid  image  possible  of  the 

constitutional  government.  — ah  the  clerUs  regard  BlxIou;  Poiret. 
stupefied,  gazes  at  him  restlessly. — And    SO    tO    keep    my  WOrd 

with  you.  I  have  spoken  in  parables  just  as  savages 
do! — Listen. — While  the  ministers  start  discussions  in 
the  Chambers,  about  as  conclusive  as  this,  and 
about  as  useful  as  ours,  the  administration  cuts  the 
buttons  off  the  tax-payers." 

ALL. 

"  Bravo!  Bixiou." 

POIRET — who  now  understands. 

"  I  do  not  grieve  over  the  loss  of  my  buttons." 


348  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

BIXIOU. 

**I  shall  follow  the  example  of  Minard;  I  shall  not 
trouble  myself  to  sign  a  receipt  for  such  a  little 
amount,  and  I  shall  deprive  the  ministry  of  my 

co-operation." — He  leaves  amidst  the  Uu^hter  of  all  the  clerks. 

In  the  minister's  reception  room  there  was  passing 
another  scene  more  instructive  than  this,  for  by  it 
we  learn  how  great  thoughts  perish  in  high  places, 
and  in  what  way  they  console  themselves  there  for 
misfortunes.  At  this  moment  des  Lupeaulx  was 
presenting  Baudoyer,  the  new  director,  to  the  min- 
ister. In  the  drawing-room  were  two  or  three 
ministerial  deputies,  some  influential  men,  and  Mon- 
sieur Clergeot,  to  whom  His  Excellency  gave  the 
assurance  of  a  fine  salary.  After  the  exchange  of 
a  few  common-place  sentences,  the  business  of  the 
day  was  on  the  carpet. 

A  DEPUTY. 
"You  will  no  longer  have  Rabourdin?" 

DES  LUPEAULX. 
"He  has  resigned." 

CLERGEOT. 
"  It  is  said  that  he  wished  to  reform  the  adminis- 
tration." 

THE   MINISTER — reeardlne  the  deputies. 

"  Perhaps  the  salaries  are  not  in  proportion  to  the 
services  exacted." 

DE  LA   BRI^RE. 
"According  to  Monsieur  Rabourdin  a  hundred 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  349 

clerks  at  twelve  thousand  francs  would  accomplish 
more  work  and  do  it  faster  than  a  thousand  clerks 
with  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred  francs." 

CLERGEOT. 

"Perhaps  he  is  right." 

THE  MINISTER. 

**  But  how  can  you  change  this!  The  machine  is 
set  up  that  way,  it  must  be  broken  to  pieces  before 
it  can  be  reformed;  but  who,  then,  would  have  the 
courage,  in  the  presence  of  the  tribunal,  under  the  fire 
of  the  foolish  outcries  of  the  opposition,  or  the  terri- 
ble articles  in  the  newspapers?  It  follows  that  there 
will  one  day  be  a  damaging  solution  of  continuity 
between  the  government  and  the  administration." 

THE  DEPUTY. 

"In  what  way?" 

THE  MINISTER. 

"A  minister  should  wish  for  the  public  good  with- 
out having  the  power  of  bringing  it  about.  You 
would  create  interminable  delays  between  things 
and  their  results.  If  you  have  made  the  theft  of  a 
shilling  truly  impossible,  you  will  not  be  able  to 
prevent  collusions  in  the  sphere  of  self-interest. 
Certain  operations  will  only  be  conceded  by  secret 
stipulations,  which  it  will  be  difficult  to  detect. 
Moreover,  the  clerks,  from  the  lowest  to  the  chief- 
clerk  of  the  office,  will  have  opinions  of  their  own; 
they  will  no  longer  be  the  hands  to  one  brain,  they 
will  no  longer  represent  the  opinions  of  the  govern- 
ment; the  opposition  tends  to  give  them  the  right  to 


350  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

speak  against  the  government,  to  vote  against  it,  to 
criticise  it.'* 

BAUDOYER — in  a  low  voice,  but  so  as  to  be  heard. 

"  Monseigneur  is  sublime." 

DES  LUPEAULX. 
"  It  is  certain  that  bureaucracy  has  its  defects;  I 
find  it  slow  and  insolent;  it  hampers  ministerial 
action  a  little  too  much;  it  stifles  many  projects  and 
arrests  progress;  but  the  French  administration  is 
exceedingly  useful — " 

BAUDOYER. 
"  That  is  so.'* 

DES  LUPEAULX. 
**  If  only  to  sustain  the  paper  and  stamp  factories. 
If,  like  excellent  housekeepers,  it  is  rather  fussy,  it 
can,  at  any  moment,  render  an  account  of  its  expen- 
ditures. Where  is  the  shrewd  merchant  who  would 
not  gladly  throw,  in  the  gulf  of  some  insurance 
company,  five  per  cent  of  the  entire  gain  of  his 
working  capital,  so  as  not  to  have  any  leakage?" 

THE    DEPUTY — a  manufacturer. 

**  The  industries  of  two  worlds  would  subscribe 
with  joy  to  such  an  arrangement  with  this  bad  genius 
called  leakage." 

DES  LUPEAULX. 
"Ah!  well,  although  statistics  are  the  childish 
resources  of  modern   states,  who  mistake  figures 
for  calculation,  one  must  mak&  use  of  figures  to  be 


\ 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  351 

able  to  calculate.  Let  us  calculate,  then.  Figures 
are,  moreover,  the  tried  argument  of  societies  based 
on  self-interest  and  on  money;  that  is  the  sort  of 
society  the  charter  has  given  us!  in  my  opinion,  at 
least.  Then,  nothing  convinces  the  intelligent  masses 
like  figures.  All  things,  say  our  statesmen  of  the 
Left,  are  in  fact  solved  by  figures.  Let  us  calcu- 
late . — The  minister  goes  off  in  a  comer  to  talk  In  a  low  voice  with  a  deputy. — 

There  are  about  forty  thousand  government  clerks 
in  France,  as  shown  by  the  salaries,  not  counting  a 
workman,  for  a  road-maker,  a  street-sweeper,  a 
roller  of  segars,  are  not  clerks.  The  average  salary 
is  fifteen  hundred  francs.  Multiply  forty  thousand 
by  fifteen  hundred,  and  you  have  sixty  millions. 
Now,  in  the  first  place  a  publicist  would  call  the 
attention  of  China  and  of  Russia,  where  all  the 
clerks  steal,  also  that  of  Austria,  of  the  American 
republics,  of  the  world,  to  the  fact  that  for  this 
price  France  possesses  the  most  ferreting,  critical, 
scribbling,  paper-blotting,  cataloguing,  fault-finding, 
inspecting,  painstaking,  in  other  words,  the  most 
shrewd  old  housekeeper  of  all  known  administrations. 
There  is  not  spent,  or  hoarded,  in  France  even  so 
much  as  a  centime  which  is  not  ordered  by  a  note, 
proved  by  vouchers,  produced  and  reproduced  on 
balance-sheets,  receipted  when  paid;  then  the 
orders  and  receipts  are  all  registered,  checked  and 
verified  by  spectacled  men.  At  the  slightest  defect 
in  form  the  clerk  is  alarmed,  for  he  lives  on  these 
technicalities.  Many  nations  would  be  satisfied  with 
this  state  of  affairs,  but  Napoleon  did  not  stop  there. 


352  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

This  great  organizer  re-established  supreme  magis- 
trates of  a  court  unique  in  the  world.  These  magis- 
trates pass  their  days  in  verifying  money-orders, 
documents,  lists,  registers,  permits,  payments, 
moneys  received  and  moneys  expended,  etc.,  which 
are  all  written  down  by  the  clerks.  The  severe 
judges  encourage  over-scrupulousness,  the  talent  of 
research,  the  sharp-sighted ness  of  the  lynx,  the 
perspicacity  of  accounts,  to  the  point  of  going  over  all 
the  additions  to  find  possible  deficiencies.  These 
great  martyrs  to  figures,  return,  two  years  later,  to 
an  army  commissary,  some  account  in  which  the 
error  has  amounted  to  only  two  centimes.  Thus 
the  French  administration,  the  purest  of  all  on  the 
globe,  has,  just  as  His  Excellency  has  told  you, 
rendered  robbery  impossible  in  France,  and  pecula- 
tion a  myth.  Ah!  well,  what  fault  can  one  find? 
France  possesses  a  revenue  of  twelve  hundred 
million  francs,  and  she  spends  it,  that  is  all. 
Twelve  hundred  million  francs  enter  her  treasury 
and  twelve  hundred  million  francs  leave  it.  She 
then  handles  two  thousand  four  hundred  millions, 
and  pays  only  sixty  millions, — ^two  and  a  half  per 
cent, — so  as  to  make  sure  that  there  has  been  no 
leakage.  Our  political-kitchen  account  costs  sixty 
millions,  but  the  gendarmerie,  the  courts  of  law,  the 
prisons  and  the  police  cost  as  much  and  give  us  no 
return.  Moreover,  we  employ  men  incapable  of 
doing  any  but  this  one  kind  of  work.  Consider  this 
well.  The  waste,  if  there  is  any,  can  only  be  moral 
and  legislative;  the  Chambers  of  Deputies  are  their 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  353 

accomplices,  and  waste  becomes  legal.  Leaking 
consists  in  ordering  public  works  which  are  neither 
urgent  nor  necessary,  in  ordering  new  uniforms 
and  gold-lace  for  the  troops,  in  sending  vessels  out 
without  inquiring  if  they  have  on  board  sufficient 
fuel,  and  then  by  paying  too  high  a  price  for  the 
same,  in  making  preparations  for  war  which  is  never 
declared,  in  paying  the  debts  of  a  state,  without 
requiring  reimbursements  or  security,  etc.,  etc. 

BAUDOYER. 
**  But  this  leakage  in  high  places  has  nothing  to  do 
with    the  clerk.     This    bad    management  of    the 
nation's  affairs  concerns  the  statesman  who  guides 
the  ship." 

THE    MINISTER — who  has  finished  his  conversation. 

"  There  is  some  truth  in  what  des  Lupeaulx  has 
just  said;  but  let  me  tell  you — to  Baudoyer, — director, 
that  no  one  sees  things  from  the  same  standpoint  as 
a  statesman.  To  order  every  kind  of  expenditure, 
even  if  useless,  does  not  constitute  bad  management 
Does  this  not  contribute  to  the  circulation  of  money, 
the  stagnation  of  which  becomes,  especially  in 
France,  disastrous  in  consequence  of  the  avaricious 
and  exceedingly  illogical  habits  of  mind  prevalent  in 
the  provinces,  which  bury  cups  of  gold — " 

THE    DEPUTY — who  has  been  listening  to  des  Lupeaulx. 

**  But  it  seems  to  me  that,  if  Your  Excellency  were 
right  just   now,  and  if  our  clever  friend — ukinudes 
Lupeaulx  by  the  arm — is   not  mistaken,  what  conclusion 
shall  we  come  to.?" 
23 


354  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

DES   LUPEAULX — after  bavini;  glanced  at  the  minister. 

"  No  doubt  that  something  needs  to  be  done." 

DE  LA  BRIERE — timidly. 
"Monsieur  Rabourdin,  then,  was  in  the  right?" 

THE  MINISTER. 
•Mwill  see  Rabourdin." 

DES  LUPEAULX. 
"  This  poor  man  unfortunately  constituted  him- 
self the  chief  judge  of  the  administration,  and  of 
the  men  who  compose  it;    he  only  wishes  three 
ministers." — 

THE  MINISTER— Interrupting. 

"He  is  then  a  crank?" 

THE  DEPUTY. 
"  How  could  you  represent  in  this  way  the  heads 
of  the  parties  composing  the  Chamber  of  Deputies?" 

BAUDOYER — with  an  air  which  he  thought  was  smart 

"Perhaps  Monsieur  Rabourdin  would  also  change 
the  constitution  given  by  a  legislative  sovereign." 

THE   MINISTER — becoming  thoughtful,  takes  de  la  Briire's  arm  and 
I  leads  him  away. 

"  I  would  like  to  see  the  work  Rabourdin  has 
written;  and  as  you  know  about  it — " 

DE  LA  BRIERE — mtheofsce. 
"  He  has  burned  it  all.    You  permitted  him  to  be 
dishonored,  and  so  he  has  resigned  from  the  ministry. 
Do  not  think,  Monseigneur,  that  he  ever  had  the 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  355 

foolish  thought — as  des  Lupeaulx  would  make  you 
believe — of  changing  anything  in  the  admirable 
centralization  of  power." 

THE  MINISTER— to  himself. 
*'I  have  committed  a  fault. — HelssllentforamonieBt — 

What  matter.?  We  shall  never  lack  plans  for 
reform — " 

DE    LA  BRIERE. 
"It  is  not   ideas   that  we  want,  but  men   of 
execution." 

Des  Lupeaulx,  that  great  advocate  of  abuses, 
entered  the  ofifice. 

"  Monseigneur,  I  start  off  for  my  election." 
"Wait,"  said  His  Excellency,  leaving  his  private 
secretary  and  taking  the  arm  of  des  Lupeaulx,  with 
whom  he  walked  into  the  recess  of  the  window. 
"My  friend,  let  me  have  this  arrondissement;  in  that 
case  you  shall  be  made  count,  and  I  will  pay  your 
debts. — At  last,  if  after  the  new  chamber  is  elected, 
I  should  remain  in  office,  I  will  find  the  opportunity 
of  having  you  among  others  named  peer  of  France. 
"You  are  a  man  of  honor,  I  accept." 
It  was  in  this  way  that  Clement  Chardin  des 
Lupeaulx,  whose  father,  ennobled  under  Louis  XV., 
bore  quartered  on  the  first  argent,  a  wolf  ravissant 
de  sable  bearing  a  lamb  gules ;  second,  purpure  of 
three  mascles  argent;  two  and  one;  third,  paly  of 
gules  and  argent  of  twelve  pieces;  fourth,  of  gold, 
on  a  paly  of  gules  flying  and  twisted  in  sinople, 
supported  by  four  griffin's  claws,  jessant  from  the 


356  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE 

sides  of  the  escutcheon,  with  the  motto  en  LUPUS 
IN  HlSTORIA,  was  able  to  surmount  this  rather 
satirical  escutcheon  with  the  coronet  of  a  count. 

In  1830,  toward  the  end  of  December,  Monsieur 
Rabourdin  had  some  business  to  transact  which 
required  him  to  go  to  his  old  ministry,  where  the 
offices  had  been  much  agitated  by  dismissals 
reaching  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  This 
revolution  weighed  chiefly  on  the  office  boys,  who 
do  not  like  new  faces  too  well.  Rabourdin  having 
arrived  early  at  the  ministry,  whose  officials  he  well 
knew,  chanced  to  overhear  the  following  dialogue 
between  Laurent's  two  nephews,  for  their  uncle  had 
been  pensioned. 

'*  Ah!  well.  How  is  your  chief  of  division  getting 
on?" 

**  Do  not  speak  to  me  about  him;  I  can  do  nothing 
with  him.  He  rings  for  me  to  ask  me  if  I  have  seen 
his  handkerchief  or  his  snuff-box.  He  receives 
people  without  keeping  them  waiting;  in  fact,  he  has 
not  the  slightest  dignity.  As  for  me,  I  am  obliged 
to  say  to  him:  'But,  sir,  your  predecessor,  the  count, 
in  the  interest  of  power,  hacked  his  arm-chair  with 
his  pen-knife,  to  make  believe  he  was  working.'  In 
addition  he  disarranges  everything.  I  find  every- 
thing in  chaotic  confusion.  He  has  a  very  small 
mind — and  now  tell  me  about  your  minister?" 

"  Mine?  Oh!  I  have  at  last  tamed  him;  he  knows 
now  where  his  letter-paper  and  envelopes,  his  wood, 
and  all  his  belongings  are  kept.  My  former  master 
used  to  swear,  this  one  is  mild, — but  he  has  not  an 


THE  CIVIL  SERVICE  357 

aristocratic  air;  then  he  wears  no  decoration.    I  do 
not  like  to  see  a  chief  without  a  decoration;  he 
might  be  mistaken  for  one  of  us,  which  would  be 
humiliating.     He  carries  off  the  office  letter-paper, 
and  he  asked  me  if  I  could  goto  his  house  and  assist 
the  servants  when  receptions  were  to  be  given." 
"  Ah!  what  a  government,  my  friend." 
"Yes,  everyone  connected  with  it  economizes." 
**  Provided  they  do  not  curtail  our  poor  salaries!" 
"  I  am  afraid  they  will.     The  chambers  are  very 
watchful.    They  find  fault  with  us  for  using  too 
much  wood." 

"Ah!  well,  that  will  not  last  long,  if  they  take 
this  course." 

"We  are  caught;  some  one  is  listening  to  us." 
"  Ah!  It  is  the  defunct  Monsieur  Rabourdin. — Ah! 
sir,  I  recognize  you  by  your  way  of  announcing 
your  presence. — If  you  have  business  here,  no  one 
will  be  cognizant  of  the  respect  due  to  you,  for  we 
are  the  only  ones  who  remain  of  those  who  were 
here  in  your  time — Messrs.  Colleville  and  Baudoyer 
have  not  used  the  morocco  of  their  arm-chairs  since 
your  departure. — Oh!  my  God,  six  months  later 
they  were  made  tax-collectors  in  Paris." 

Paris,  July,  1836. 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 


TO  HEINRICH  HEINE 

MY  DEAR  HEINE:  I  dedicate  this  study  to  you;  to 
you  who  represent  in  Paris  the  spirit  and  poetry  of 
Germany,  as  in  Germany  you  represent  the  vivacity 
and  wit  of  French  criticism;  to  you  who  understand 
better  than  anybody  how  much  criticism,  humor, 
love,  and  truth  this  may  contain. 

De  Balzac. 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 


"My  dear  friend,*'  said  Madame  de  la  Baudraye,' 
drawing  out  a  manuscript  from  under  the  cushion  of 
her  sofa,  "  will  you  forgive  me  if,  in  our  present 
straits,  I  have  been  induced  to  make  a  story  of  what 
you  told  us  the  other  day?" 

"  Everything  is  fair  prey  nowadays;  have  you 
not  seen  authors  who,  for  lack  of  invention,  serve 
up  their  own  hearts,  and  often  those  of  their  mis- 
tresses, to  the  public?  It  will  become  the  fashion, 
my  dear,  to  run  in  search  of  adventures,  less  for 
the  sake  of  being  the  hero  of  them  than  for  the 
pleasure  of  relating  them.** 

"  After  all,  you  and  the  Marquise  de  Rochefide 
will  have  paid  our  rent;  and  I  do  not  think,  by  the 
way  things  are  going  here,  that  I  shall  ever  pay 
yours." 

"  Who  can  tell  ?  Perhaps  you  may  have  the  same 
good  luck  as  Madame  de  Rochefide." 

"  Do  you  think  it  good  luck  to  return  to  one's 
husband?** 

"No;  only  it  is  uncommon  luck. — Come,  I  am 
listening  to  you.'* 

Madame  de  la  Baudraye  read  as  follows: 

The  scene  is  laid  in  a  gorgeous  salon  in  the  Rue 
de  Chartres-du-Roule.    One  of  the  most  celebrated 
authors  of  his  time  is  seated  upon  a  sofa  beside  a 
(363) 


364  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

very  noble  marquise,  with  whom  he  is  on  the  inti- 
mate  terms  of  a  man  whom  a  lady  honors  with  her 
favor;  a  hanger-on  whom  she  keeps  for  her  con- 
venience rather  than  for  lack  of  somebody  better. 

**  Well,"  said  she,  "  have  you  found  those  letters 
which  you  spoke  of  yesterday,  and  without  which 
you  were  unable  to  tell  me  all  that  concerns  him?** 

"I  have  them." 

"It  is  your  turn;  I  am  listening  as  a  child  does 
to  his  mother  when  she  tells  him  the  story  of  the 
Great  Green  Serpent." 

**  I  count  the  young  man  in  question  among  those 
persons  of  my  acquaintance  whom  I  am  in  the  habit 
of  calling  my  friends.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  infinite 
wit,  but  infinitely  unfortunate;  full  of  excellent  in- 
tentions, and  delightful  in  conversation.  Though 
young,  he  has  already  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  world; 
and  while  waiting  for  better  things,  he  belongs  to 
Bohemia.  "Bohemia,  as  we  must  call  the  theory  of 
life  current  in  the  Boulevard  des  Italiens,  is  made 
up  of  young  men  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and 
thirty,  all  of  them  men  of  genius  in  their  way;  little 
known  as  yet,  but  to  be  known  hereafter,  when 
they  are  sure  to  be  distinguished.  They  already  cut 
a  figure  in  the  times  of  the  carnival,  when  they  let 
off  the  effervescence  of  their  spirits — too  tightly 
bottled  up  during  the  rest  of  the  year — in  pranks  that 
are  more  or  less  ludicrous.  What  a  time  we  are  living 
in,  and  how  preposterous  that  the  immense  forces  of 
such  a  power  should  be  idly  dissipated!  There 
are  in   Bohemia  diplomats  capable  of  overturning 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  365 

the  plans  of  Russia,  if  they  could  feel  themselves 
supported  by  the  power  of  France.  There  are 
writers,  administrators,  soldiers,  journalists,  artists; 
in  short,  capacity  and  intelligence  of  all  kinds  are 
represented  there.  It  is  a  little  world  in  itself. 
If  the  Emperor  of  Russia  bought  Bohemia  for 
twenty  millions,  provided  that  he  could  remove  it 
from  the  asphalt  of  the  boulevards  and  set  it  down 
in  Odessa,  in  a  year  Odessa  would  be  Paris.  There 
in  Bohemia  is  withering  useless  the  flower  of  that 
admirable  French  youth  so  much  sought  after  by 
Napoleon  and  Louis  XIV.,  but  which  has  been  neg- 
lected for  the  last  thirty  years  by  the  senile  gov- 
ernment under  which  everything  in  France  decays; 
that  noble  youth  of  which  Professor  Tissot — a  man 
who  can  be  trusted — was  saying  only  yesterday: 
'  The  Emperor  employed  the  young  men  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  found  them  worthy  of  himself;  in  his 
councils,  in  general  administration,  in  negotiations 
bristling  with  difficulties  or  full  of  perils,  and  in  the 
government  of  conquered  countries;  and  everywhere 
they  fulfilled  his  expectations!  Young  men  were 
for  him  the  missi  dominici  of  Charlemagne.*  The 
one  word  *  Bohemia '  explains  everything.  Bohemia 
owns  nothing,  and  yet  lives  on  what  it  has.  Hope 
is  its  religion,  faith  in  itself  its  code,  and  charity  is 
supposed  to  be  its  finance.  All  its  young  men  are 
greater  than  their  misfortunes;  they  are  beneath 
prosperity,  but  above  destiny.  Always  astride  on 
an  if,  witty  as  the  column  of  jests  in  a  newspaper, 
they  are  gay  as  only  debtors  can  be,  and  oh!  they 


366  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

are  as  deep  in  debt  as  in  drink!  Finally,  this  is 
what  I  am  leading  up  to,  they  are  all  in  love,  over 
head  and  ears  in  love!  Imagine  Lovelace,  Henry  IV., 
the  Regent,  Werther,  Saint-Preux,  Rene,  and  Mare- 
chal  Richelieu  all  rolled  into  a  single  man,  and  you 
may  have  some  idea  of  their  love.  And  what  lovers 
they  make!  Above  all,  they  are  eclectics  in  love, 
and  serve  you  up  such  a  passion  as  might  please  any 
woman;  their  heart  is  like  the  bill  of  fare  at  a  res- 
taurant. They  have  unconsciously  put  Stendhal's 
book  of  Lorve  into  practice,  perhaps  without  even 
having  read  it,  and  are  familiar  with  its  sections  on 
love  as  a  taste,  as  a  passion,  as  a  caprice,  crystallized 
love,  and  especially  transient  love.  Everything  is 
acceptable  to  them,  and  they  have  created  the  bur- 
lesque axiom  that  all  women  are  equal  in  the  sight  of 
man.  This  is  vigorously  expressed;  but  as  I  think 
the  spirit  of  it  false,  I  do  not  care  for  the  letter. 
Madame,  the  name  of  my  friend  is  Gabriel-Jean- 
Anne-Victor  -  Benjamin-Georges-Ferdinand-Charles- 
^douard  Rusticoli,  Count  de  la  Palferine.  The 
Rusticoli  came  into  France  with  Catherine  de  Me- 
dici, having  just  been  dispossessed  of  a  very  small 
sovereignty  in  Tuscany.  They  were  distantly  re- 
lated to  the  house  of  Este,  and  intermarried  with  the 
Guises.  They  killed  a  great  many  Protestants  at 
the  Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew,  and  Charles  IX. 
gave  one  of  them  in  marriage  an  heiress  of  the 
county  of  La  Palferine,  which  had  been  confiscated 
from  the  Due  de  Savoy.  Henry  IV.  took  it  away 
from  them  again,  although  he  left  them  the  title. 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  567 

That  great  king  committed  the  folly  of  returning  the 
fief  to  the  Due  de  Savoy,  but  in  exchange  two  offices 
of  the  crown  and  one  governorship  were  given  to 
the  Comtes  de  la  Palferine.  Before  the  Medici  pos- 
sessed armorial  bearings  the  La  Palferines  had  worn 
a  silver  cross,  branded  with  an  ai{ure  fleur-de-lys 
— the  fleur-de-lys  was  added  by  letters  patent  of 
Charles  IX. — surmotmted  by  a  count's  coronet,  and 
flanked  by  two  peasants,  with  IN  HOC  SIGNO  VIN- 
CIMUS  for  a  motto.  They  played  a  brilliant  part 
under  the  Valois  and  until  the  quasi-reign  of  Riche- 
lieu; then  they  declined  under  Louis  XIV.,  and  were 
ruined  under  Louis  XV.  The  grandfather  of  my 
friend  squandered  what  remained  of  his  princely 
fortune  upon  Mademoiselle  Laguerre,  whom  he,  first 
of  all  and  before  Bouret,  brought  into  fashion.  The 
father  of  Charles-^douard,  who  was  in  1789  a  pen- 
niless officer,  had  the  good  sense,  with  the  aid  of  the 
Revolution,  to  call  himself  Rusticoli.  He  married, 
during  the  Italian  wars,  one  of  the  Capponi,  a  god- 
daughter of  the  Countess  Albani;  thence  his  son's 
last  Christian  name!  He  was  one  of  the  best  col- 
onels in  the  army,  and  the  Emperor  named  him 
commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  and  made  him 
count.  The  colonel's  spinal  column  was  slightly 
crooked,  and  his  son  used  to  say,  laughing,  that  he 
was  a  count  made  aver.  General  Count  Rusticoli — 
for  he  had  become  a  brigadier-general  at  Ratis- 
bonne — died  at  Vienna  after  the  battle  of  Wagram, 
where  he  was  named  general  of  the  division  on  the 
field  of  battle.    His  name,  his  Italian  celebrity,  and 


368  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

his  merit  would  have  won  a  marshal's  staff  for  him 
sooner  or  later.  Under  the  Restoration  he  would 
have  built  up  again  the  great  and  splendid  house  of 
La  Palferine,  distinguished  as  far  back  as  iioo  under 
the  name  of  Rusticoli — for  the  Rusticoli  had  then 
already  furnished  a  pope  and  made  two  revolutions 
in  the  Kingdom  of  Naples;  that  house  that  was  so 
illustrious  and  so  able  under  the  Valois  that  the 
La  Palferines,  although  determined  members  of  the 
Fronde,  still  existed  under  Louis  XIV.;  and  Mazarin 
had  liked  them,  for  he  recognized  in  them  a  relic  of 
Tuscany.  To-day,  when  Charles-Edouard  de  la 
Palferine  is  spoken  of,  there  are  not  three  people  in 
a  hundred  who  know  what  the  house  of  La  Palferine 
is;  but  the  Bourbons  have  indeed  left  a  Foix-Grailly, 
living  by  his  brush!  Ah!  if  you  knew  the  courage 
with  which  ^douard  de  la  Palferine  has  accepted 
this  obscure  position!  And  how  he  mocks  the  bour- 
geois of  1830!  What  attic  salt!  If  Bohemia  could 
tolerate  a  king,  he  would  be  King  of  Bohemia.  His 
spirit  is  inexhaustible.  We  owe  to  him  the  map 
of  Bohemia  and  the  names  of  the  seven  castles  that 
Nodier  could  not  discover." 

"That,"  said  the  marquise,  "is  the  only  thing 
wanting  in  one  of  the  cleverest  burlesques  of  our 
time." 

"  A  few  characteristics  of  my  friend  La  Palferine 
will  put  you  in  a  position  to  judge  him,"  answered 
Nathan.  "  La  Palferine  happened  to  find  one  of  his 
friends,  a  fellow-Bohemian,  engaged  in  an  alterca- 
tion on  the  boulevard  with  a  bourgeois  who  thought 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  369 

himself  insulted.  Bohemia  is  very  high-handed  with 
the  modern  power.     There  was  talk  of  a  duel. 

"  '  One  moment/  said  La  Palferine,  immediately 
becoming  a  perfect  Lauzun — '  one  moment!  Sir,  do 
you  exist?* 

"  '  What,  sir?*  asked  the  bourgeois. 

** '  Yes,  do  you  exist?     What  is  your  name?* 

"'Godin.' 

"'Eh?  Godinl'  exclaimed  La  Palferine's  friend. 

"  '  One  moment,  my  dear  sir,*  said  La  Palferine, 
stopping  his  friend.  *  Perhaps  you  belong  to  the 
Trigaudin  family?' 

"  Astonishment  on  the  part  of  the  bourgeois. 

"  *  No?  Then  you  belong  to  the  new  ducal  house 
of  Gaeta — an  imperial  creation?  No?  Well,  how 
can  you  expect  to  fight  with  my  friend,  who  will  be 
a  secretary  of  the  embassy  and  an  ambassador,  and 
to  whom  you  will  one  day  owe  respect? — Godin! 
There  is  no  such  thing;  you  are  nobody.  Godin! 
My  friend  cannot  fight  in  the  air.  When  a  man  is 
somebody,  he  will  not  fight  with  a  nobody.  Come, 
my  dear  sir,  good-bye.* 

*' '  My  respects  to  your  wife,'  added  the  friend. 

**  One  day  La  Palferine  was  walking  with  a  friend 
of  his,  who  threw  the  end  of  his  cigar  into  the  face 
of  a  passer-by.  That  gentleman  had  the  bad  taste 
to  lose  his  temper. 

**  *  You  have  been  exposed  to  the  fire  of  your 
adversary,*  said  the  young  count,  *  and  the  witnesses 
declare  that  your  honor  is  satisfied.' 

"  He  owed  a  thousand  francs  to  his  tailor,  who, 

24 


370  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

instead  of  going  in  person,  sent  his  head  clerk,  one 
morning,  to  La  Palferine.  The  fellow  discovered 
the  unhappy  debtor  in  the  sixth  story  of  a  building 
at  the  bottom  of  a  court  at  the  head  of  the  Faubourg 
du  Roule.  There  was  no  furniture  in  the  room 
except  a  bed,  and  what  a  bed!  and  a  table,  and 
what  a  table!  La  Palferine  listened  to  the  clerk's 
ridiculous  demand,  which,  as  he  told  us,  he  considered 
unlawful,  made  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

•"Go  tell  your  master,'  answered  he,  with  the 
gesture  and  pose  of  Mirabeau,  'the  situation  in 
which  you  found  me.' 

"  The  clerk  fell  back,  excusing  himself  profusely. 
La  Palferine  caught  sight  of  the  young  man  at  the 
top  of  the  stairs,  and  rising  with  a  solemnity  ex- 
emplified in  the  verses  of  Britannicus,  called  to  him: 

**  *  Please  notice  my  staircase!  Pay  particular 
attention  to  my  staircase,  so  that  you  may  not  forget 
to  tell  him  about  my  staircase.' 

*'  In  whatever  circumstances  he  has  been  thrown 
by  chance.  La  Palferine  has  never  been  found  below 
the  mark,  without  ready  wit,  or  in  bad  taste.  He 
invariably  shows  the  genius  of  Rivarol  and  the 
subtlety  of  a  great  French  noble.  It  is  he  who 
invented  the  delightful  story  of  the  friend  of  the 
banker  Lafitte,  who  went  to  the  office  of  the  national 
subscription  proposed  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  the 
banker  to  keep  his  palace,  in  which  the  Revolution 
of  1830  had  been  plotted. 

"'Here  are  five  francs,'  said  he;  'give  me  a 
hundred  sous  in  change.' 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  37I 

**  There  was  a  caricature  made  of  it. 

"  La  Palferine  had  the  misfortune,  as  an  indict- 
ment would  put  it,  to  make  a  young  girl  a  mother. 
The  girl  was  no  novice,  and  confessed  her  fault  to 
her  mother,  who,  good  bourgeoise  as  she  was,  rushed 
off  to  La  Palferine  to  ask  what  he  proposed  to  do. 

**  *  Madame,  I  am  neither  a  doctor  nor  a  nurse.' 

*•  She  was  thunderstruck;  but  she  returned  to  the 
charge  three  or  four  years  later,  and  insisted  upon 
knowing  what  he  expected  to  do. 

**  *  O,  madame,'  he  answered,  *  when  the  child  is 
seven  years  old — at  which  age  children  pass  from 
the  hands  of  women  into  those  of  men' — a  motion 
of  assent  from  the  mother — *  if  the  child  is  indeed 
mine' — gesture  on  the  part  of  the  mother, — *  if  he  is 
strikingly  like  me,  if  he  promises  to  be  a  gentleman, 
if  I  recognize  in  him  my  own  species  of  wit,  and, 
above  all,  the  air  of  a  Rusticoli,  oh!  then,' — another 
gesture, — *  on  my  honor  as  a  gentleman,  I  will  give 
him — a  stick  of  barley-sugar!' 

*'  All  this,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  make  use  of  the 
style  Monsieur  de  Sainte-Beuve  employs  in  his 
biographies  of  men  unknown  to  fame,  is  the  spor- 
tive, jocular  side  of  a  strong  race;  but  it  is  already 
corrupt.  It  reminds  one  more  of  the  Parc-aux-Cerfs 
than  the  Hdtel  de  Rambouillet.  The  race  is  not  a 
gentle  one,  and  I  fear  that  it  is  more  inclined  to 
debauchery  than  I  should  wish  in  generous,  gifted 
natures;  but  its  gallantry  is  after  the  style  of  Riche- 
lieu— gay  almost  to  buffoonery;  it  belongs  to  the 
excesses  of  the  eighteenth  century;  it  goes  back 


372  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

to  the  time  of  the  mousquetaires,"  and  outdoes 
Champcenetz;  but  this  fickleness  seems  part  of 
the  arabesques  and  ornaments  of  the  old  court  of 
the  Valois.  In  a  time  as  moral  as  our  own,  we 
should  indignantly  protest  against  such  audacity; 
but  the  stick  of  barley-sugar  may  serve  to  show 
young  maidens  the  danger  of  such  intimacies,  at 
first  full  of  deceptive  dreams  and  delights,  rose- 
colored  and  overgrown  with  flowers,  but  the  down- 
ward slopes  of  which  are  left  unwatched,  and  lead 
to  extravagant  excess,  to  errors  attended  with  hurt- 
ful excitements  and  too  agitating  results.  This 
anecdote  shows  the  vivacious  and  consummate  in- 
telligence of  La  Palferine,  for,  as  Pascal  recom- 
mended, he  is  between  two  extremes:  he  is  both 
tender  and  pitiless,  and,  like  Epaminondas,  he  is 
equally  great  in  either  direction.  Besides,  this  jest 
of  his  marks  the  period;  in  old  times  there  were  no 
accoucheurs;  so  this  witticism  of  his,  which  will 
endure,  explains  the  refinements  of  our  civilization.** 

"  Come  now,  my  dear  Nathan,  what  nonsense  is 
this?"  asked  the  marquise,  in  surprise. 
I  "  Madame  la  Marquise,'*  answered  Nathan,  **  you 
are  ignorant  of  the  value  of  these  elaborate  phrases. 
I  am  now  talking  the  new  French  of  Sainte-Beuve. 
I  shall  continue.  One  day,  as  La  Palferine  was 
walking  along  the  boulevard,  arm  in  arm  with  some 
of  his  friends,  he  saw  approaching  one  of  the  most 
ferocious  of  his  creditors,  who  addressed  him  with: 

"  *  Are  you  thinking  of  me,  sir?* 

•• '  Not  the  least  in  the  world!*  replied  the  count. 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  375 

**  Observe  how  difficult  his  position  was.  Under 
similar  circumstances  Talleyrand  had  said,  *  You  are 
very  inquisitive,  my  friend.*  And  La  Palferine 
could  not  try  to  imitate  the  inimitable  Talleyrand. 
The  young  count  is  as  generous  as  Buckingham,  and 
cannot  endure  to  be  taken  unawares;  so  one  day 
that  he  had  nothing  to  give  to  a  chimney-sweep,  he 
plunged  his  hand  into  a  cask  of  grapes  lying  at  the 
door  of  a  grocer's  shop,  and  filled  the  cap  of  the 
little  boy,  who  ate  the  grapes  with  great  relish. 
The  grocer  began  by  laughing  and  ended  by  shaking 
hands  with  La  Palferine. 

***Oh,  fie,  sir!'  said  the  count;  'your  left  hand 
should  not  know  what  my  right  hand  has  just 
given.' 

**  Charles-^douard  is  of  an  adventurous  disposi- 
tion; he  neither  seeks  nor  avoids  a  quarrel,  but  he 
has  an  intelligent  daring.  On  seeing,  in  the  lobby 
of  the  opera,  a  man  who  had  spoken  of  him  in  un- 
flattering terms,  he  nudged  him  as  he  passed,  and 
then,  turning  back,  nudged  him  again. 

**  'You  are  awkward,'  said  the  man. 

"  *  On  the  contrary,  I  did  it  on  purpose.* 

"  The  young  man  presented  his  card. 

**  *  It  is  very  dirty,*  returned  La  Palferine;  *  you' 
have  kept  it  too  long  in  your  pocket.  Be  so  good  as 
to  give  me  another,'  added  he,  throwing  it  away. 

"  He  received  on  the  spot  a  cut  from  the  sword  of 
his  adversary,  who,  on  seeing  the  blood  flow,  was 
anxious  to  end  it  there,  and  exclaimed: 

"  *  You  are  wounded,  sir.' 


374  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

"  M  refuse  to  acknowledge  the  blow,'  he  replied, 
with  as  much  coolness  as  if  he  were  in  a  fencing- 
school. 

**  And  he  returned  a  similar  thrust,  only  a  much 
deeper  one,  adding: 

** '  There  is  the  proper  thrust,  sir/ 

**  His  adversary  went  to  bed  for  six  months.  All 
this  is  in  the  style  of  Monsieur  Sainte-Beuve,  that 
makes  one  think  of  the  wits  of  the  palmy  days  of 
the  monarchy,  and  of  their  ingenious  jests.  The 
life  is  free  and  unfettered,  but  without  steadfastness 
of  purpose;  and  the  gaiety  of  imagination  only  such 
as  is  vouchsafed  to  earliest  youth.  The  bloom  has 
left  the  flower,  but  there  remains  the  dried  grain, 
abundant  and  fruitful,  to  provide  for  the  winter 
season.  Do  not  you  think  this  is  an  unsatisfied, 
restless  state  of  things,  indescribable  and  impossible 
to  analyze,  yet  self-comprehending,  and  ready  to 
burst  into  flames  far  and  wide  when  the  moment  for 
action  arrives.?  It  is  like  the  asperity  of  the  cloister: 
there  is  a  vague,  obscure  melancholy  about  it — an 
acrid  fermentation  caused  by  the  idle  stagnation  of 
the  forces  of  youth." 

"That  is  enough,"  said  the  marquise;  "you  are 
giving  me  a  shower-bath." 

**  It  is  like  the  tedium  of  a  long  afternoon.  The 
young  people  have  no  occupation,  and  rather  than 
do  nothing  at  all  they  get  into  mischief,  as  will 
always  happen  in  France.  Just  now  they  have  two 
sides — the  studious  side  of  the  misunderstood,  and 
the  ardent  side  of  the  passiomU>" 


A  PRINCE   OF  BOHEMIA  375 

*' Enough!"  repeated  Madame  de  Rochefide,  with 
a  decided  gesture;  "you  make  me  nervous." 

"  In  order  to  complete  my  description  of  La  Pal- 
ferine  I  shall  hasten  to  enter  the  domain  of  gallan- 
try; for  I  want  you  to  understand  the  particular 
genius  of  this  young  man.  He  is  admirably  char- 
acteristic of  a  portion  of  that  wanton  youth  that  is 
strong  enough  to  laugh  at  the  situation  in  which  it 
has  been  placed  by  the  folly  of  its  rulers,  calculating 
enough  to  observe  the  uselessness  of  work  and  to  do 
nothing,  and  eager  enough  to  cling  to  pleasure,  the 
only  thing  of  which  it  has  not  been  robbed.  But  a 
policy  that  is  at  once  bourgeois,  commercial  and 
bigoted  goes  on  stopping  up  the  outlets  through 
which  so  much  ability  and  talent  might  flow  and 
spread  themselves.  Nothing  for  these  young  poets 
and  scholars!  To  make  you  understand  the  stupid- 
ity of  the  new  government  I  shall  tell  you  something 
that  happened  to  La  Palferine.  There  is  on  the  civil 
list  an  agent  of  a  charity  organisation.  This  agent 
heard  one  day  that  La  Palferine  was  in  extreme 
distress;  he  reported  him,  and  carried  fifty  francs  to 
the  assistance  of  the  heir  of  the  Rusticoli.  La 
Palferine  received  this  gentleman  with  perfect  grace, 
and  entered  into  conversation  with  him  about  the 
personages  at  court. 

"'Is  it  true,*  asked  he,  'that  Mademoiselle 
d'Orleans  is  to  contribute  so  large  a  sum  to  the 
noble  work  undertaken  in  behalf  of  her  nephew?  It 
is  very  noble  of  her.* 

"  La  Palferine  whispered  to  a  little  ten-year-old 


376  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

boy  who  served  him  for  nothing.  He  called  him 
Father  Anchise,  and  had  once  said  of  him: 

**  *  I  never  saw  so  much  simplicity  and  so  much 
intelligence  united.  He  would  go  through  fire  for 
me;  he  understands  everything,  and  yet  he  cannot 
understand  that  I  can  do  nothing  for  him.* 

**  Anchise  brought  back  from  a  livery-stable  a 
magnificent  coupe,  with  a  footman  behind  it.  By 
the  time  La  Palferine  heard  the  noise  of  the  carriage, 
he  had  cleverly  led  up  the  conversation  to  the 
occupation  of  his  visitor,  whom  he  has  since  nick- 
named a  charity  man-of-all-work.  He  had  inquired 
as  to  his  business  and  his  salary. 

"  '  Do  they  give  you  a  carriage  to  go  about  the 
city  with,?'  he  asked. 

"  'Oh,  no!'  said  the  clerk. 

"  Whereupon  La  Palferine  and  a  friend  who 
happened  to  be  with  him  went  downstairs  with  the 
poor  man  and  forced  him  to  get  into  the  carriage,  as 
the  rain  was  falling  in  torrents.  La  Palferine  had 
arranged  everything,  and  offered  to  drive  the  clerk 
wherever  he  wished  to  go.  After  the  alms-giver  had 
finished  his  next  visit,  he  found  the  equipage  waiting 
for  him  at  the  door,  and  the  footman  handed  him  the 
following  note,  written  in  pencil: 

"  '  This  carriage  has  been  paid  for,  for  three  days,  by  the 
Count  Rusticoli  de  la  Palferine,  who  is  only  too  happy  to 
assist  the  charities  of  the  court  by  lending  wings  to  its 
benevolence.* 

"  La  Palferine  now  calls  the  civil  list  an  uncivil 
list. 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  377 

**  He  was  passionately  loved  by  a  woman  whose 
conduct  was  of  a  light  nature.  Antonia  lived  in 
Rue  du  Helder,  and  was  well  known  there,  though 
at  the  time  of  her  intimacy  with  the  count  she  had 
not  as  yet  become  notorious.  She  had  plenty  of 
that  old-time  impertinence  which  the  women  of 
to-day  have  carried  to  the  pitch  of  insolence.  After 
two  weeks  of  unmixed  happiness  the  woman  was 
obliged  to  return,  in  the  interest  of  her  civil  list,  to  a 
less  exclusive  system  of  passion.  On  discovering 
that  her  dealings  with  him  were  lacking  in  frankness. 
La  Palferine  wrote  to  Madame  Antonia  this  letter 
that  made  her  famous: 

" '  MADAME:  Your  conduct  is  as  amazing  as  it  is  dis- 
tressing. Not  only  have  you  torn  my  heart  by  your  scorn, 
but  you  are  so  wanting  in  delicacy  as  to  retain  possession  of 
my  toothbrush,  which  my  means  do  not  permit  me  to  replace, 
as  my  property  is  already  mortgaged  beyond  its  value. 

" '  Farewell,  too  lovely  and  too  ungrateful  friend!  May  we 
meet  again  in  a  better  worldl 

" '  CHARLES-^DOUARD.' 

"Certainly — I  continue  to  use  the  learned  style  of 
Monsieur  Sainte-Beuve  —  this  far  surpasses  the 
raillery  of  Sterne  in  his  Sentimental  Journey;  it  is 
Scarron  without  his  coarseness.  I  am  not  sure, 
even,  that  Molidre,  in  a  good  humor,  might  not  have 
said,  'This  is  mine,*  as  he  did  of  Cyrano's  best 
things.  Richelieu  was  not  more  consummate  when 
he  wrote  to  the  princess  who  was  waiting  for  him  in 
the  kitchen-court  of  the  Palais  Royal,  '  Stay  there, 


3/8  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

my  queen,  and  charm  the  scullions.'  But  Charles- 
ddouard's  wit  is  less  bitter.  I  am  not  sure  whether 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  knew  this  kind  of  humor. 
Perhaps,  on  a  narrower  inspection,  I  might  say  that 
Plato  approached  it,  but  on  the  severe  and  harmoni- 
ous side — " 

"Stop  talking  that  jargon,"  said  the  marquise; 
*'you  may  print  it,  if  you  choose,  but  I  do  not 
deserve  to  be  punished  by  having  my  ears  tortured 
with  it." 

"  It  was  in  this  manner  that  he  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Claudine,"  Nathan  went  on.  "  It  was  one 
of  those  listless  days  when  young  men  find  life  a 
burden,  and,  like  Blondet  in  the  time  of  the  Res- 
toration, only  rouse  themselves  from  the  despond- 
ency to  which  the  presumption  of  old  men  has 
condemned  them,  to  attempt  some  mischief,  or  to 
undertake  one  of  those  huge  pieces  of  buffoonery 
the  sole  excuse  for  which  lies  in  the  boldness  with 
which  they  are  conceived,  La  Palferine  was  saunter- 
ing along  the  pavement,  cane  in  hand,  between  Rue 
de  Grammont  and  Rue  de  Richelieu.  In  the  distance 
he  saw  a  woman  dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion. 
She  wore  her  costly  garments  so  negligently,  he  said, 
as  to  mark  her  as  a  princess  of  the  court  or  of  the 
Opera;  but  after  July,  1830,  according  to  him  no  mis- 
take was  possible,  and  he  knew  the  princess  be- 
longed to  the  Opera.  The  young  count  hastened  to 
her  side,  as  if  a  meeting  had  been  agreed  upon 
between  them;  he  pursued  her  with  obstinate  polite- 
ness and   gentlemanlike  persistence,  and  turning 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  379 

upon  her  an  authoritative  glance  that  was  most 
effective,  he  obliged  her  to  suffer  his  escort.  Any 
other  man  would  have  been  chilled  by  the  reception 
he  met  with,  and  disconcerted  by  her  behavior — 
by  the  provoking  coolness  of  her  manner  and  the 
severity  of  her  answers;  but  La  Palferine  addressed 
to  her  one  of  those  humorous  remarks  against  which 
no  serious  resolution  can  stand.  In  order  to  rid 
herself  of  him  the  lady  entered  her  dressmaker's. 
Charles-^douard  went  in,  too;  he  sat  down,  gave 
advice  and  offered  his  opinion  as  if  he  were  ready 
to  pay  the  bill.  The  lady  was  annoyed  by  his  cool- 
ness, and  took  her  leave.  On  the  stairs  she  said  to 
La  Palferine,  her  persecutor: 

"  *  Sir,  I  am  going  to  call  on  an  old  lady,  a  cousin 
of  my  husband's,  Madame  de  Bonfalot — * 

"  *  Oh!  Madame  de  Bonfalot?'  said  the  count. 
*  I  am  delighted;  I  will  go,  too — * 

**  The  couple  made  their  way  there,  and  as  Charles- 
j&douard  entered  with  the  lady,  it  was  naturally 
supposed  that  she  had  brought  him  with  her.  He 
joined  in  the  conversation,  and  was  lavish  of  his 
unusual  and  distinguished  wit.  The  visit  lasted 
longer  than  he  had  bargained  for,  so  he  said  to  his 
new  friend: 

" '  Madame,  you  must  not  forget  that  your  hus- 
band is  waiting  for  us;  he  only  gave  us  a  quarter  of 
an  hour's  grace.* 

"  She  was  confounded  by  such  boldness — which, 
as  you  know,  is  always  attractive — and  carried  away 
by  his  triumphant  look  and  the  inscrutable  candor 


y 


380  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

of  the  expression  he  can  assume  at  will;  so,  on 
rising,  she  was  forced  to  accept  the  arm  of  her  cava- 
lier and  go  downstairs  with  him.  On  the  threshold 
she  said: 

"  '  Sir,  I  like  a  joke—' 

*' '  And  so  do  I,*  he  answered. 

'*  She  laughed. 

"  *  But  it  only  depends  on  you  to  make  this 
serious,'  he  added.  *  I  am  the  Count  of  La  Palfer- 
ine,  and  I  should  be  charmed  to  place  my  heart  and 
fortune  at  your  feet.' 

*•  This  happened  in  1834,  and  La  Palferine  was 
twenty-two  years  old.  By  good  luck  it  chanced 
that  on  that  day  he  was  elegantly  dressed.  I  am 
going  to  describe  him  to  you  briefly:  he  is  the  living 
likeness  of  Louis  XIII.;  he  has  the  same  white  fore- 
head and  delicately  moulded  temples;  the  same  olive, 
Italian  complexion,  white  in  the  high  lights;  the  same 
brown  hair,  worn  long,  and  the  black  imperial;  his  ex- 
pression is  serious  and  melancholy,  for  his  person  and 
his  character  are  in  striking  contrast.  As  Claudine 
looked  at  him  and  heard  his  name,  a  shudder  came 
over  her.  It  did  not  escape  La  Palferine,  and  he 
threw  her  a  look  from  his  deep,  black,  almond- 
shaped  eyes,  that  revealed  from  beneath  their  slightly 
creased  and  yellow-tinted  lids  a  capacity  for  enjoy- 
ment equal  to  the  endurance  of  any  fatigue.  Under 
the  influence  of  this  look  she  asked  for  his  address. 

"  *  What  maladresse!'  he  answered. 

'* '  Oh,  bah!'  said  she,  with  a  smile.  '  You  are  a 
bird  upon  the  wing,  then.?* 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  381 

** '  Farewell,  madame;  you  are  a  woman  that  I 
could  love,  but  my  fortune  is  far  from  keeping  pace 
with  my  desires — ' 

"  He  bowed  and  left  her  abruptly,  without  looking 
back.  Two  days  afterward,  by  one  of  those  fatalities 
only  possible  in  Paris,  he  went  into  a  pawnbroker's 
shop  to  sell  one  of  the  superfluities  of  his  wardrobe. 
He  appeared  dissatisfied  with  the  price,  and  had 
been  haggling  a  long  time,  when  his  new  friend 
passed  and  recognized  him. 

"*I  have  made  up  my  mind  not  to  take  your 
trumpet,'  he  called  to  the  amazed  pawnbroker, 
pointing  to  an  enormous  dented  trumpet  hanging 
up  outside  in  plain  relief  against  some  hunting- 
liveries  that  had  once  belonged  to  the  lackeys  of 
ambassadors  and  generals  of  the  Empire.  Then  he 
turned  to  follow  the  young  woman  with  fierce  im- 
petuosity. After  that  great  day  of  the  trumpet  they 
agreed  admirably. 

"  Charles-^douard  has  most  accurate  ideas  on  the 
subject  of  love.  He  thinks  that  no  man  can  love 
twice  in  his  life;  love  comes  but  once,  and  is  deep 
as  a  shoreless  sea.  At  any  age  this  love  may  burst 
upon  you  as  grace  burst  upon  Saint  Paul;  yet  a  man 
may  live  to  be  sixty  without  having  felt  it.  Accord- 
ing to  a  fine  expression  of  Heine,  love  is  perhaps  the 
secret  malady  of  the  heart — a  mingling  of  our  feeling 
of  the  infinite  with  the  ideal  of  beauty  revealed  in 
visible  form.  In  short,  love  embraces  at  one  and 
the  same  time  the  creature  and  the  creation.  As 
long  as  there  is  no  question  of  this  great  poem,  we 


$82  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

must  trifle  with  those  loves  that  are  perishable,  and 
give  them  that  place  that  we  give  in  literature  to 
light  verse  as  compared  with  an  epic.  In  his  new 
connection  Charles-^douard  experienced  neither  the 
thunderburst  that  declares  the  advent  of  true  love, 
nor  that  gradual  unveiling  of  attractions  and  recog- 
nition of  qualities  hitherto  unknown,  that  bind  to- 
gether two  beings  with  an  ever-growing  power. 
True  love  may  come  in  only  two  ways.  It  is  either 
love  at  first  sight — which  is  probably  an  effect  of 
Scotch  second  sight — or  it  is  the  slow  fusion  of  two 
natures  that  realize  the  Platonic  idea.  But  Claudine 
loved  Charles-^douard  to  distraction;  she  felt  love, 
ideal  and  physical,  in  its  completest  form.  In  short, 
her  passion  for  La  Palferine  was  a  real  one;  but  to 
him  she  was  only  a  charming  mistress.  The  devil 
himself,  who  is  certainly  a  mighty  magician,  could 
have  changed  nothing  in  the  order  of  these  two 
unequal  passions.  I  might  even  say  that  Claudine 
often  bored  Charles-lSdouard. 

"  *  After  three  days  I  like  to  throw  out  of  the 
window  the  woman  I  don't  care  for,  and  the  fish 
that  has  been  too  long  in  the  pantry,*  he  used 
to  say. 

"In  Bohemia  there  is  little  secrecy  about  such  airy 
love-affairs.  La  Palferine  often  spoke  to  us  of  Clau- 
dine; but  we  never  saw  her,  and  her  real  name  was 
never  mentioned.  Claudine  was  almost  a  myth, 
yet  she  was  familiar  to  us;  and  we  thus  reconciled 
the  laws  of  good  taste  with  the  exigencies  of  our 
life  in  common.     We  had  a  formula  composed  of 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  383 

such  names  as  Claudine,  Hortense,  the  baroness, 
the  bourgeoise,  the  empress,  the  lioness,  the  Spanish 
lady,  etc.,  and  this  gave  each  of  us  a  vent  for  his 
joys,  his  cares,  his  griefs,  and  his  hopes,  and  allowed 
us  the  means  of  communicating  our  discoveries  to 
one  another.  We  went  no  farther  than  this.  There 
is  an  example  in  Bohemia  of  an  accidental  discovery 
made  concerning  the  identity  of  a  person  of  whom 
we  were  talking;  by  unanimous  accord  she  was 
never  mentioned  again.  This  may  serve  to  show 
that  the  young  have  a  sense  of  what  true  delicacy 
is.  Persons  of  discrimination  understand  marvel- 
ously  the  exact  limits  of  a  joke  and  the  proper 
exercise  of  the  French  quality  known  as  blague — a 
soldier-like  word  which  we  hope  will  be  eliminated 
from  the  language,  but  which  alone  can  describe 
the  spirit  of  Bohemia.  So  it  happened  that  we  often 
jested  about  Claudine  and  the  count.  It  was  'What 
are  you  doing  with  Claudine?  And  how  is  your 
Claudine?  Is  it  still  a  Claudine?'  sung  to  Rossini's 
air  of  'Toujours  Gessler!'  etc. 

'* '  I  wish  my  worst  enemy  just  such  a  mistress,' 
said  La  Palferine  to  us  one  day.  *  No  terrier,  no 
greyhound,  no  poodle  can  be  compared  with  her  for 
her  absolute  sweetness,  submission,  and  tenderness. 
At  times  I  reproach  myself  and  call  myself  to 
account  for  my  harshness.  Claudine  obeys  me  with 
the  docility  of  a  saint.  She  comes  to  see  me,  I  send 
her  away;  she  goes,  but  lingers  weeping  in  the 
court-yard.  I  may  not  wish  to  see  her  for  a  whole 
week,  and  then  I  appoint  her  a  certain  time  on  the 


384  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

next  Tuesday — say  at  midnight  or  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  at  ten  or  at  five;  at  the  most  incon- 
venient hours,  at  breakfast  or  dinner  time;  early  in 
the  morning  or  late  at  night — and  she  is  sure  to 
come,  resplendent,  lovely,  beautifully  dressed,  at 
the  exact  moment!  And  she  is  married— entangled 
in  all  the  obligations  and  duties  of  a  household.  I 
should  not  like  to  have  to  invent  all  the  stratagems 
and  excuses  she  must  think  of  in  order  to  conform  to 
my  caprices.  Nothing  wearies  her;  she  is  always 
faithful!  I  tell  her  that  it  is  not  love,  but  obstinacy. 
She  writes  me  every  day,  and  I  do  not  read  her 
letters;  she  has  found  it  out,  but  she  keeps  on 
writing.  Look,  there  are  two  hundred  letters  in  that 
chest.  She  begs  me  to  take  one  of  her  letters  every 
day  to  wipe  my  razors  on,  and  I  do  so!  She  is  right 
in  thinking  that  a  glimpse  of  her  handwriting  makes 
me  think  of  her.* 

"  La  Palferine  was  dressing  as  he  said  this.  I 
took  the  letter  of  which  he  was  about  to  make  use; 
I  read  it  and  kept  it,  as  he  did  not  ask  it  back;  here 
it  is,  for  I  found  it,  as  I  promised  you  I  should: 

"'MONDAY,  MIDNIGHT. 

«  'Well,  my  friend,  are  you  satisfied  with  me.?  I 
did  not  ask  you  to  let  me  take  your  hand,  that  I  was 
longing  to  press  to  my  lips  and  heart,  and  yet  it 
would  have  been  so  easy  for  you  to  give  it  to  me. 
No,  I  did  not  ask  you,  for  I  was  too  much  afraid 
of  displeasing  you.  Know  one  thing!  although  I 
am  painfully  aware  how  entirely  indifferent  my 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHIMIA  385 

behavior  is  to  you,  I  am  nevertheless  extremely 
careful  of  my  conduct.  A  woman  who  belongs  to 
you,  under  whatsoever  title  and  however  secretly, 
must  avoid  incurring  the  slightest  censure.  My  love 
for  you  is  as  pure  as  that  of  the  angels  of  heaven, 
who  have  no  secrets;  wherever  I  am,  I  think  I  am 
still  in  your  presence,  and  I  wish  to  do  you  honor. 
*' '  All  you  said  to  me  about  my  manner  of  dressing 
struck  me  and  made  me  understand  how  superior 
people  of  high  birth  are  to  others.  I  had  still  some 
trace  of  thef  opera-dancer  in  the  cut  of  my  gowns 
and  my  bonnets.  In  a  moment  I  recognized  how  far 
I  was  from  good  taste,  and  when  I  go  to  you  dressed 
like  a  duchess,  you  will  hardly  recognize  me.  Oh, 
how  kind  you  have  been  to  your  Claudine,  and  how 
I  thank  you  for  all  you  have  taught  me!  How  much 
interest  you  showed  in  those  few  words!  You  must 
have  given  some  thought  to  that  little  thing  that 
belongs  to  you  named  Claudine!  My  stupid  husband 
would  never  have  enlightened  me;  he  is  pleased 
with  all  I  do;  and  besides,  he  is  too  domestic,  too 
prosaic,  to  know  what  is  beautiful.  Tuesday  is  a 
long  time  for  me  to  wait!  Tuesday  I  shall  be  with 
you  for  hours!  Ah!  on  Tuesday  I  shall  try  to 
imagine  that  hours  are  months,  and  that  they  will 
go  on  forever.  I  live  in  the  hope  of  that  morning,  as 
later  on,  when  it  is  passed,  I  shall  live  on  the  recol- 
lection of  it.  Hope  is  a  memory  of  desire  that  is  to 
come,  and  remembrance  is  a  memory  of  joy  that  has 
gone.  How  sweet  this  life  of  thought  is  to  me!  I 
try  to  devise  expressions  of  my  affection  for  you 
25 


386  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

that  shall  be  mine  alone,  and  the  secret  of  which  no 
other  woman  shall  ever  guess.  I  turn  cold  when  1 
think  something  may  happen  to  prevent  our  meet- 
ing. Oh!  I  would  gladly  break  with  him  if  it  were 
necessary;  but  no  obstacle  can  ever  arise  here.  It 
is  you  who  may  wish  to  go  into  society,  perhaps  to 
call  upon  another  woman.  Oh!  spare  me  Tuesday! 
If  you  took  it  away  from  me,  Charles,  you  do  not 
know  what  trouble  you  would  cause  him;  for  I 
should  make  his  life  miserable.  If  you  don't  wish 
to  see  me,  if  you  will  go  into  society,  let  me  come  all 
the  same,  while  you  are  dressing;  only  let  me  see 
you — I  ask  no  more  than  that;  and  let  this  prove  to 
you  how  purely  I  love  you.  Since  the  day  you 
gave  me  permission  to  love  you, — and  as  I  am  yours, 
you  must  have  given  me  that  permission, — I  have 
loved  you  with  all  the  strength  of  my  soul,  and  I 
shall  love  you  always;  for  having  once  loved  you,  I 
cannot  and  must  not  love  any  other  man.  So,  when 
you  are  within  sight  of  those  eyes  that  will  look  upon 
no  one  but  you,  you  will  feel  in  your  Claudine  the 
existence  of  some  divine  spark  that  you  have  called 
into  being.  Alas!  with  you  I  am  no  coquette;  I  am 
like  a  mother  with  her  son.  I  endure  everything 
from  you,  I  who  was  once  so  haughty  and  imperious. 
I  who  played  fast  and  loose  with  dukes  and  princes, 
and  with  the  aides-de-camp  of  Charles  X. — who 
were  of  more  importance  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
court — treat  you  as  a  spoiled  child.  But  what  good 
would  coquetry  do?  It  would  be  a  dead  loss;  and 
yet  without  coquetry,  I  can  never  make  you  love  me, 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  387 

sir.  I  know  it,  I  ^eel  it;  I  am  borne  along  by  the 
influence  of  an  irresistible  power;  and  yet  I  think 
that  this  entire  self-abandonment  will  win  me  from 
you  that  feeling  which  he  says  all  men  have  for  their 
own  property.' 

"  •  WEDNESDAY. 

*•  *  Oh!  what  dark  sadness  filled  my  heart  when  I 
heard  that  I  must  give  up  the  happiness  of  seeing 
you  yesterday!  One  thought  alone  prevented  me 
from  running  into  the  arms  of  death;  it  was  your 
desire!  Not  to  go  to  you  was  to  carry  out  your 
will,  to  obey  your  commands.  O,  Charles,  I  looked 
so  pretty!  You  would  have  found  me  more  attrac- 
tive than  that  lovely  German  princess  whom  you 
wished  me  to  copy,  and  whom  I  studied  at  the  Opera. 
But  perhaps  you  would  have  thought  I  was  not 
myself.  You  have  robbed  me  of  all  my  self-con- 
fidence, and  perhaps  I  may  be  ugly.  Oh!  I  hate 
myself,  and  I  am  crazy  when  I  think  how  radiant 
you  are.  I  shall  surely  lose  my  senses.  Do  not 
laugh  at  me,  and  never  speak  to  me  of  the  fickle- 
ness of  women.  If  we  are  fickle,  you  men  must 
be  very  strange  people!  To  take  away  from  a  poor 
creature  those  hours  of  bliss  the  anticipation  of 
which  had  filled  her  last  ten  days  with  happiness, 
and  had  made  her  kind  and  sweet  to  all  who  came 
to  see  her!  It  was  because  of  you  that  I  was  good 
to  him;  but  now  you  do  not  know  the  harm  you  do 
him.  I  wonder  what  new  thing  I  must  think  of  so 
as  not  to  lose  you,  or  at  least  to  have  the  right  of 


388  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

seeing  you  sometimes. — When  I  reflect  that  you 
have  never  been  willing  to  come  here!  I  should 
have  waited  upon  you  with  such  exquisite  pleasure. 
There  are  women  who  are  more  favored  than  I; 
there  are  some  to  whom  you  say,  '  /  love  you;'  but 
to  me  you  have  only  said, '  You  are  a  good  girl.' 
Although  you  do  not  know  it,  there  are  certain 
words  of  yours  that  gnaw  at  my  heartstrings. 
Some  clever  people  occasionally  ask  me  for  my 
thoughts;  I  am  thinking  of  my  abject  condition, 
which  is  that  of  the  most  wretched  sinner  in  presence 
of  her  Saviour.* 

"  There  are,  as  you  see,  three  pages  more.  La 
Palferine  let  me  take  this  letter,  and  yet  it  was 
blotted  with  tears  that  seemed  still  hot!  This  letter 
proved  to  me  that  La  Palferine  had  spoken  the  truth. 
Marcas,  who  is  shy  enough  with  women,  was  in 
ecstasies  over  a  similar  letter  that  he  had  just  been 
reading  in  another  corner  of  the  room,  and  then 
used  to  light  his  pipe. 

*'  *  Every  woman  who  is  in  love  can  write  like 
that,'  exclaimed  La  Palferine.  *  Love  makes  them 
all  clever,  and  gives  them  a  good  style;  this  shows 
that  in  France  style  is  the  result  of  ideas  and  not  of 
words.  See  how  well  thought  out  it  is,  and  how 
logical  is  the  sentiment!* — 

"  He  then  read  us  another  letter,  superior  in  every 
way  to  those  artificial,  labored  letters  that  we  novel- 
writers  are  always  trying  to  produce. 

"  One  day  poor  Claudine  heard  that  La  Palferine 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  589 

was  in  an  extremely  dangerous  position  on  account 
of  a  bill  of  exchange,  and  unfortunately  took  it  into 
her  head  to  carry  him  an  exquisitely  embroidered 
purse  that  contained  a  considerable  sum  of  money. 

"  *  How  do  you  dare  to  meddle  in  my  affairs?'  ex- 
claimed La  Palferine,  angrily.  '  Darn  my  socks  and 
embroider  slippers  for  me  if  you  choose.  But — 
Ah!  you  want  to  play  the  part  of  a  duchess,  and 
you  are  turning  the  fable  of  the  Danae  against  the 
aristocracy!' 

"As  he  said  this  he  emptied  the  purse  into  his 
hand,  and  made  a  gesture  as  if  he  were  about  to 
throw  the  contents  in  Claudine's  face.  Claudine 
was  too  terrified  to  take  the  joke,  and,  drawing  back, 
she  stumbled  against  a  chair  and  struck  her  head 
against  a  sharp  corner  of  the  mantel-piece.  The 
poor  woman  thought  she  was  dying;  and  when  she 
found  herself  stretched  on  the  bed  and  able  to  speak, 
all  she  said  was: 

"  *  It  was  my  fault,  Charles.' 

"  For  one  moment  La  Palferine  was  in  despair, 
and  his  despair  brought  back  Claudine  to  life.  She 
was  thankful  for  her  accident,  and  profited  by  it  to 
make  La  Palferine  accept  the  gift  that  was  to  free 
him  from  embarrassment.  It  was  just  the  reverse  of 
La  Fontaine's  fable,  in  which  a  husband  returns 
thanks  to  some  robbers  for  having  drawn  an  outburst 
of  tenderness  from  his  wife.  The  rest  of  the  story 
will  give  you  an  insight  into  La  Palferine's  character. 
Claudine  went  home  and  invented  the  best  fiction 
she  could  to  account  for  her  wound.    Then  she  fell 


390  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

dangerously  ill,  and  an  abscess  appeared  upon  her 
head.  The  doctor — Bianchon,  I  think — yes,  it  was 
he — was  anxious  to  cut  off  Claudine's  hair.  Her 
hair  is  as  beautiful  as  that  of  the  Duchess  de  Berri 
and  she  refused,  telling  Bianchon  in  confidence  that 
she  could  not  have  it  cut  without  the  permission  of 
the  Comte  de  la  Palferine.  Bianchon  went  to 
Charles-^douard,  who  listened  gravely  while  the 
doctor  explained  the  case  at  length  and  showed  that 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  cut  Claudine's  hair  in 
order  t'^  perform  the  operation  in  safety.  Then  he 
exclaimed  peremptorily: 

"  *  Cut  Claudine's  hair!  No;  I  should  rather  lose 
her!' 

"  It  is  now  four  years  ago,  and  yet  Bianchon  still 
talks  about  that  speech  of  La  Palferine,  andwe  have 
laughed  over  it  by  the  half-hour.  When  Claudine 
heard  the  decree  she  took  it  as  a  proof  of  affection, 
and  believed  that  she  was  loved.  In  spite  of  her 
relations  in  tears  and  her  husband  on  his  knees,  she 
was  inexorable,  and  kept  her  hair;  but  the  inner 
power  given  her  by  the  consciousness  of  being  loved 
aided  the  operation,  which  turned  out  perfectly  suc- 
cessful. There  are  emotions  stronger  than  the  sur- 
geon's skill  and  the  laws  of  medicine.  Claudine 
wrote  a  misspelled,  unpunctuated,  yet  charming 
letter  to  La  Palferine  to  acquaint  him  with  the  happy 
result  of  the  operation,  telling  him  that  love  could  do 
more  than  science. 

"  '  Now,'  said  La  Palferine  to  us  one  day,  '  how 
shall  I  get  rid  of  Claudine.?' 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  39I 

"  'She  is  not  in  your  way,'  said  I ;  'she  leaves 
you  perfectly  free.* 

"  '  That  is  true,*  said  La  Palferine;  *  but  I  do  not 
wish  anything  to  slip  into  my  life  without  my 
consent.* 

"  From  that  time  on  he  began  to  torment  Clau- 
dine.  He  had  the  deepest  horror  of  a  bourgeoise,  of 
a  woman  without  a  name;  he  wanted  a  woman  with 
a  title.  It  was  true  that  Claudine  had  improved; 
she  dressed  like  the  most  distinguished  women  of 
the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain;  she  had  acquired  an 
elegance  of  gait,  and  walked  with  chaste,  inimitable 
grace;  but  that  was  not  enough. — Claudine  swal- 
lowed all  he  said  because  of  the  praise  he  gave  her. 

"  '  Well,*  said  La  Palferine  to  her  one  day,  *  if  you 
wish  to  continue  the  mistress  of  poor,  penniless, 
futureless  La  Palferine,  you  must  at  least  represent 
him  worthily.  You  must  set  up  a  carriage,  footmen 
in  livery,  and  a  title.  You  must  give  to  my  vanity 
the  satisfaction  I  cannot  procure  for  myself.  The 
woman  whom  I  honor  with  my  notice  must  never  go 
on  foot;  if  she  is  splashed  with  mud,  it  reflects  upon 
me.  That  is  the  way  I  feel  about  it.  My  mistress 
must  be  admired  by  all  Paris,  and  I  want  all  Paris  to 
envy  my  good  luck.  When  a  young  fellow  sees  a 
brilliant  countess  roll  by  in  a  brilliant  equipage,  I 
want  him  to  say,  '  Who  is  the  happy  man  who  can 
call  this  divine  creature  his?*  and  then  fall  to 
thinking, — It  will  double  my  pleasure.* 

"  La  Palferine  has  confessed  that  after  having 
hurled  this  programme  at  Claudine's  head  for  the 


393  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

purpose  of  getting  rid  of  her,  he  was  overcome  for 
the  first  and  probably  the  only  time  in  his  life. 

**  *  Very  well,  my  friend,'  said  she,  and  her  voice 
betrayed  the  inward  tremulousness  of  her  whole 
being;  *  I  will  accomplish  all  you  require, — or  die — * 

**  She  kissed  his  hand  and  dropped  a  few  happy 
tears  upon  it. 

** '  I  am  glad,*  she  continued,  '  that  you  have 
explained  to  me  what  I  must  be  to  remain  your 
mistress.' 

"'Then,*  La  Palf^rine  told  us,  *she  went  out 
with  the  light,  airy  gesture  of  a  happy  woman.  She 
stood  upon  the  threshold  of  my  garret,  tall  and 
stately  as  an  antique  sibyl.' 

'*  All  this  must  give  you  a  sufficient  idea  of  the 
manners  of  Bohemia,  of  which  this  young  condotMre 
is  one  of  the  distinguished  figures,"  Nathan  went  on, 
after  a  pause.  "  Now,  I  am  going  on  to  tell  you  how 
I  discovered  who  Claudine  really  was,  and  how  I 
was  able  to  understand  the  terrible  truth  of  part  of 
her  letter,  which  perhaps  you  did  not  observe." 

The  marquise  was  too  much  absorbed  in  thought 
to  laugh,  and  only  said,  "  Go  on."  This  convinced 
Nathan  that  she  was  much  struck  by  his  strange 
tale,  and  especially  interested  in  La  Palferine. 

"Among  all  the  dramatic  authors  of  Paris,  in 
1829,  one  of  the  most  noted,  intelligent,  and  respec- 
table was  Du  Bruel.  His  name  is  unknown  to  the 
public,  as  it  is  given  as  De  Cursy  on  the  playbills. 
At  the  time  of  the  Restoration  he  was  in  possession 
of  the  place  of  head-clerk  in  the  ofifice  of  one  of  the 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  393 

ministries,  but  as  he  was  strongly  attached  to  the 
elder  branch  of  the  royal  family,  he  valiantly  sent 
in  his  resignation.  Since  then  he  has  written  twice 
as  many  plays,  to  compensate  for  the  deficit  in  his 
income  caused  by  his  noble  conduct.  Du  Bruel  was 
then  forty  years  old,  and  his  life  is  known  to  you. 
Like  some  other  authors,  he  was  in  love  with  an 
actress,  and  it  was  one  of  those  affections  that  no 
one  can  explain,  yet  which  are  well  known  to  the 
whole  literary  world.  The  woman,  as  you  are  aware, 
is  Tullia,  who  used  to  be  one  of  the  first  dancers  at 
the  Royal  Academy  of  Music.  Tullia  is  not  her  real 
name,  any  more  than  De  Cursy  is  Du  Bruel's.  For 
ten  years — from  1817  to  1827 — this  girl  shone  con- 
spicuously on  the  boards  of  the  Opera.  Her  accom- 
plishments were  not  of  a  high  order,  and  her  talent 
was  mediocre;  but  she  was  pretty,  and  cleverer  than 
dancers  usually  are;  she  refused  to  join  in  the  vir- 
tuous reform  that  ruined  the  ballet,  and  continued 
the  Guimard  dynasty.  She  owed  her  ascendancy, 
also,  to  her  distinguished  protectors:  to  the  Due  de 
Rhetore,  son  of  the  Due  de  Chaulieu;  to  the  influ- 
ence of  a  celebrated  director  of  the  fine  arts;  to 
diplomats  and  rich  foreigners.  During  the  zenith  of 
her  fame  she  had  a  little  house  in  Rue  Chauchat,  and 
lived  after  the  manner  of  the  opera  nymphs  of  those 
days.  Du  Bruel  fell  in  love  with  her,  toward  1823, 
when  the  passion  of  the  Due  de  Rhetore  was  on  the 
wane.  As  he  was  but  a  deputy  head-clerk,  he  was 
forced  to  tolerate  the  director  of  the  fine  arts,  and 
he  believed  himself  the  favored  one.     This  new 


394  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

connection  became,  after  six  years,  almost  a  mar- 
riage. Tullia  carefully  concealed  her  origin,  and  it 
was  only  known  that  she  came  from  Nanterre.  One 
of  her  uncles,  who  was  formerly  a  plain  carpenter 
or  mason,  had  become,  it  was  said,  a  rich  master 
builder,  thanks  to  her  recommendations  and  gener- 
ous loans.  Du  Bruel  once  committed  the  indiscre- 
tion of  saying  that  Tullia  would  be  sure  to  inherit  a 
fine  property  sooner  or  later.  The  master  builder 
was  not  married,  and  had  a  weakness  for  his  niece, 
to  whom  he  was  under  obligations. 

"  *  He  has  not  wit  enough  to  be  ungrateful,'  she 
used  to  say. 

**  In  1829  Tullia  retired  of  her  own  accord.  She 
was  thirty  years  old,  and  knew  that  she  was  growing 
stouter;  she  had  tried  in  vain  to  act  in  pantomime, 
but  she  only  knew  how  to  make  her  skirts  fly  out 
well,  and  display  her  person  to  the  public,  as  she 
pirouetted  in  the  style  of  Noblet.  Old  Vestris  had 
said  to  her  in  the  beginning  that  when  this  trick  was 
well  executed,  and  the  dancers  sufficiently  denuded, 
it  was  worth  all  imaginable  talents.  It  is  to  the 
dancer  what  the  chest-tone  is  to  the  singer.  There- 
fore, he  said,  the  celebrated  dancers,  Camargo, 
Guimard,  and  Taglioni,  who  were  all  dark,  thin,  and 
ugly,  needed  genius  to  succeed.  Tullia  had  the 
wisdom  to  withdraw,  in  her  full  glory,  before  the 
younger  girls  who  were  more  agile  than  herself;  and 
as  she  had  but  slightly  departed  from  her  aristocratic 
standard  in  the  connections  she  had  formed,  she  was 
unwilling  to  defile  her  shoes  in  the  mire  of  the  July 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  395 

government.  The  proud  and  beautiful  Claudine 
carried  away  with  her  fine  souvenirs  and  little 
money;  but  she  had  also  magnificent  jewels  and 
some  of  the  finest  furniture  in  Paris.  She  who  was 
then  so  famous,  though  forgotten  to-day,  left  the 
Opera  possessed  with  but  one  idea,  and  that  was  to 
make  Du  Bruel  marry  her.  You  must  know  that 
she  is  now  Madame  du  Bruel,  although  the  marriage 
has  not  been  made  public.  How  does  a  woman  of 
that  sort  make  a  man  marry  her  after  seven  or  eight 
years  of  intimacy.?  What  springs  does  she  push, 
and  what  machinery  does  she  set  in  motion.?  But 
however  amusing  such  an  interior  drama  may  be,  it 
is  no  concern  of  ours.  It  is  a  fact  that  Du  Bruel 
married  her  secretly.  Before  his  marriage,  Cursy's 
friends  thought  him  a  good  fellow:  he  did  not 
invariably  go  home  at  night,  and  was  somewhat  of 
a  Bohemian  in  his  habits;  he  was  always  ready 
for  a  supper  or  a  party  of  pleasure,  and  enjoyed 
going  to  rehearsals  at  the  Opera-Comique,  and  he 
used  to  turn  up,  without  knowing  exactly  how,  at 
Dieppe,  Baden,  and  Saint-Germain.  He  gave 
dinners,  lived  the  influential,  extravagant  life  of 
most  authors,  journalists,  and  artists,  asserted  his 
rights  as  an  author  in  all  the  green-rooms  of  Paris, 
and  belonged  to  our  own  set.  Finot,  Lousteau,  Du 
Tillet,  Desroches,  Bixiou,  Blondet,  Couture,  and 
des  Lupeaulx  upheld  him  in  spite  of  the  dull  pedantic 
air  and  bureaucratic  habits  that  hung  about  him. 
But,  once  married,  Tullia  made  a  slave  of  Du  Bruel. 
What  else  can  you  expect?    The  poor  devil  loved 


396  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

her.  Tullia  told  him  that  she  had  left  the  Opera  so 
that  she  might  be  all  his,  and  make  him  a  sweet  and 
faithful  wife.  She  succeeded  in  securing  a  reception 
from  the  most  rigid  of  the  Jansenist  ladies  of  the  Du 
Bruel  family.  She  passed  long,  dull  hours  at  Madame 
de  Bonfalot's,  though  nobody,  at  first,  could  guess 
why;  she  made  valuable  presents  to  the  old  and 
miserly  Madame  de  Chisse,  her  great-aunt,  and 
even  spent  a  whole  summer  with  this  lady,  never 
missing  a  single  mass.  There  in  the  country,  under 
her  aunt's  eyes,  she  confessed,  received  absolution 
and  the  sacrament.  The  next  winter  she  said  to  us: 
'You  understand?  I  shall  have  aunts  who  are 
really  mine.' 

"  She  was  so  overjoyed  to  become  a  bourgeoise, 
and  to  give  up  her  independence,  that  she  found 
means  to  lead  up  to  her  end.  She  flattered  the  old 
people.  She  went  every  day,  on  foot,  to  sit  for  two 
hours  with  Du  Bruel's  mother, when  she  was  ill.  Du 
Bruel  was  dazzled  by  wiles  that  were  worthy  of 
Madame  de  Maintenon,  and  his  admiration  for  his 
wife  never  flagged.  He  was  so  securely  bound  that 
he  never  felt  his  chains.  Claudine  gave  him  to 
understand  that  the  elastic  system  of  a  bourgeoise 
government,  dynasty,  and  court  alone  reconciled  a 
Tullia  who  had  become  Madame  du  Bruel  to  taking 
part  in  society,  which  she  had  formerly  had  the 
good  sense  to  refuse  to  enter  by  force.  She  was 
satisfied  with  being  received  at  the  houses  of 
Madame  de  Bonfalot,  Madame  de  Chisse,  and 
Madame  du  Bruel,  where  she  posed  most  consistently 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  397 

as  a  sober,  simple,  and  virtuous  woman.  Three 
years  later  she  was  also  received  by  their  friends. 

"  *  Yet  I  cannot  believe  that  the  young  Madame 
du  Bruel  ever  displayed  her  legs  and  arms  to  all 
Paris,  before  the  footlights!'  was  the  artless  remark 
of  Madame  Anselme  Popinot. 

"The  monarchy  of  July,  1830,  in  this  respect 
resembles  the  Empire;  for  Napoleon  used  to  receive 
at  court  a  woman  who  had  once  been  a  chambermaid, 
and  was  then  Madame  Garat,  wife  of  the  great  judge. 
Our  ex-dancer  had  broken  off  completely  with 
her  former  companions,  as  you  may  imagine,  and 
she  never  recognized  any  one  of  her  old  acquaint- 
ances who  might  compromise  her.  After  her  mar- 
riage she  had  hired,  in  Rue  de  la  Victoire,  a  charming 
little  house  with  a  court-yard  and  garden,  which  she 
fitted  up  with  reckless  extravagance,  and  filled  with 
the  finest  bits  of  her  own  and  Du  Bruel's  furniture. 
She  sold  everything  she  thought  ordinary  or  common- 
place. To  find  an  example  of  luxury  bewildering  as 
hers,  we  must  return  to  the  times  of  Guimard, 
Sophie  Arnould,  and  Duthe,  who  devoured  princely 
fortunes  in  their  day.  How  far  did  this  luxurious 
Mfe  at  home  influence  Du  Bruel?  The  question, 
delicate  to  put,  is  yet  more  delicate  to  answer. 
I  shall  tell  you  of  a  single  circumstance  that  will 
give  you  some  idea  of  Tullia's  whims.  The  cov- 
erlet of  her  bed  was  made  of  English  point-lace, 
and  was  worth  ten  thousand  francs.  It  came  to 
Claudine's  ears  that  a  famous  actress  had  one  like 
it,  and  after  that  she  invited  a  magnificent  Angora 


398  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

cat  to  get  up  on  her  bed.  This  anecdote  shows 
what  kind  of  woman  she  was.  Du  Bruel  dared 
not  interfere,  and,  moreover,  received  orders  to  pub- 
lish this  challenge  that  was  offered  to  the  luxury  of 
the  other  women.  Tullia  thought  much  of  the  Due 
de  Rhetore's  gift;  but  one  day,  five  years  after  her 
marriage,  she  romped  so  violently  with  her  cat  that 
the  coverlet  was  torn,  and  she  was  obliged  to  cut 
it  into  veils,  flounces,  and  other  trimmings.  She 
replaced  it  by  a  common-sense  coverlet  that  was 
really  a  coverlet,  and  not  merely  a  proof  of  the 
madness  peculiar  to  those  women  who,  as  a  journalist 
once  said,  revenge  themselves  by  insane  extrava- 
gance for  having  lived  on  raw  apples  in  their  child- 
hood. The  day  that  the  coverlet  was  rent  in  shreds 
marked  a  new  era  in  the  household.  Cursy  was 
distinguished  by  his  fierce  activity.  Nobody  sus- 
pects to  what  Paris  owes  the  vaudeville  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  invaded  its  theatres  tricked 
out  in  powder  and  patches.  The  real  origin  of  the 
thousand  and  one  plays,  with  which  the  critics  have 
found  so  much  fault,  lies  in  the  express  determina- 
tion of  Madame  du  Bruel,  who  insisted  that  her 
husband  should  buy  the  house  on  which  she  had 
spent  so  much  money,  and  which  contained  furni- 
ture to  the  value  of  five  hundred  thousand  francs. 
For  what  reason?  Tullia  never  explains;  she  is 
perfect  mistress  of  a  woman's  sovereign  answer, 
because. 

"  '  De  Cursy  has  been  much  laughed  at,'  said  she; 
*  but,  after  all,  he  owes  this  house  to  the  rouge  box, 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  399 

the  powder-puff  and  the  tinseled  dresses  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  He  would  never  have  thought 
of  it  but  for  me,'  she  added,  sinking  back  into  her 
cushions  beside  the  fire. 

"She  said  this  after  our  return  from  a  first  per- 
formance of  one  of  Du  Bruel's  plays,  which  had  been 
successful,  and  which  she  foresaw  would  receive  an 
avalanche  of  criticism.  TuUia  was  receiving  her 
friends.  She  gave  a  tea  every  Monday,  and  her 
company  was  the  most  select  she  could  get.  She 
neglected  nothing  that  could  make  her  house  at- 
tractive: there  were  card-tables  in  one  room,  and 
conversation  in  another;  and  in  a  third  and  larger 
drawing-room  she  sometimes  gave  concerts,  which 
were  always  short,  and  to  which  she  admitted  only 
the  most  eminent  artistes.  Her  good  sense  ena- 
bled her  to  acquire  exquisite  tact — a  quality  which 
probably  gave  her  great  ascendancy  over  Du  Bruel; 
and,  moreover,  the  playwright  felt  for  her  the 
kind  of  love  that  habit  gradually  renders  indispen- 
sable to  a  man's  existence.  Every  day  adds  a 
link  to  that  fine,  strong,  irresistible  chain,  which 
imprisons  in  its  coils  the  most  airy  inclinations  and 
fleeting  affections,  and,  binding  them  together,  keeps 
a  man  tied  hand  and  foot,  heart  and  soul.  Tullia 
understood  De  Cursy  perfectly;  she  knew  where  to 
wound  him,  and  how  to  heal  the  wound  she  had 
made.  To  any  observer — even  to  one  as  proud  of 
his  experience  as  I — a  passion  of  this  sort  is  a  bot- 
tomless abyss,  the  depths  of  which  are  lost  in  mys- 
tery, and  even  the  best-lighted  parts  of  which  are 


400  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

dim.  De  Cursy,  an  old  author  worn  out  by  his  life 
in  the  green-room,  loved  his  ease;  he  loved  his 
luxurious,  profuse,  and  easy  life;  he  liked  being  a 
king  at  home,  and  receiving  his  literary  friends  in  a 
house  that  was  furnished  sumptuously  as  a  palace, 
and  filled  with  choice  works  of  modern  art.  Tullia 
allowed  Du  Bruel  to  hold  sway  over  a  crowd  of  people, 
among  whom  were  journalists  that  were  easy  to  con- 
ciliate; and,  thanks  to  her  receptions  and  his  own 
judicious  loans,  Cursy  was  not  too  violently  assailed 
by  the  critics,  and  his  plays  were  a  success.  He 
would  not  have  separated  from  Tullia  for  a  kingdom. 
He  might  even  have  forgiven  her  a  breach  of  faith, 
provided  that  he  met  with  no  diminution  in  his  accus- 
tomed comforts;  but,  strange  to  say,  he  had  no  fears 
for  Tullia  on  this  score.  It  was  not  known  that  the 
former  danseuse  had  had  any  fancies;  and,  if  it  had 
been  so,  she  would  have  kept  up  appearances. 

"  *  My  dear  sir,*  said  Du  Bruel  to  us,  on  the  boule- 
vard, with  the  gravity  of  a  doctor, '  there  is  nothing 
like  marrying  a  woman  who  has  been  cured  of  her 
passions  by  the  very  abuse  she  has  made  of  them. 
Women  like  Claudine  have  sown  their  wild  oats; 
they  have  tasted  their  fill  of  pleasure,  and  they  make 
the  most  adorable  wives  a  man  could  wish;  they  are 
well  trained;  they  know  everything,  and  are  inured 
to  everything;  they  are  no  prudes,  and  consequently 
are  indulgent  to  others.  So  I  advocate  marrying  a 
remnant  of  a  thoroughbred.  I  am  the  happiest  man 
on  earth!' 

**  Du  Bruel  told  me  this  before  Bixiou. 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  40I 

*' '  My  dear  fellow,'  said  Bixiou  to  me,  *  perhaps 
he  is  better  off  for  being  in  the  wrong.' 

"  A  week  later  Du  Bruel  begged  us  to  come  and 
dine  with  him  on  a  Tuesday.  I  went,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  same  day,  to  consult  him  on  some  business 
connected  with  the  theatre,  that  had  been  entrusted 
to  us  by  a  committee  of  dramatic  authors.  We  were 
about  to  go  out  together;  but  he  first  asked  per- 
mission to  enter  Claudine's  apartment,  into  which 
he  never  penetrated  without  knocking. 

"'We  live  like  great  people,*  said  he,  smiling. 
'  Everybody's  liberty  is  respected  here.' 
"  We  were  admitted.  Du  Bruel  said  to  Claudine: 
** '  1  have  invited  some  friends  for  to-day — ' 
*'  *  There!'  cried  she;  *  you  invite  people  without 
consulting  me,  and  treat  me  like  a  mere  nobody. — 
Wait  a  moment,'  said  she,  and  her  look  appealed  to 
me  to  judge  between  them.  'When  a  man  has 
been  foolish  enough  to  marry  a  woman  like  me,  for, 
after  all,  I  was  an  opera-dancer — and  though  every- 
body else  forgets  it,  I  must  never  forget  it — well, 
such  a  man,  if  he  is  clever,  will  raise  his  wife  in 
public  esteem  by  pretending  to  acknowledge  her 
superiority,  and  he  will  justify  his  course  by  recog- 
nizing her  remarkable  qualities.  The  best  means  of 
making  others  respect  her  is  to  pay  her  respect  at 
home,  and  allow  her  to  be  absolute  mistress  there. 
Oh!  it  is  enough  to  cure  me  of  my  conceit  to  see 
how  much  afraid  he  is  of  appearing  to  listen  to  me! 
I  must  be  extraordinarily  in  the  right  for  him  to 
make  me  a  single  concession.* 
a6 


402  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

"  Every  sentence  of  hers  was  contradicted  by  a 
gesture  from  Du  Bruel. 

"  *  No,  no,'  she  continued,  warmly,  as  she  caught 
sight  of  her  husband's  gestures.  '  Du  Bruel,  my 
dear,  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about,  for  I  was 
queen  in  my  own  house  all  my  life  long,  before  I 
married  you.  Every  desire  I  had  was  watched  for, 
and  immediately  fulfilled. — After  all,  I  am  thirty-five 
years  old,  and  a  woman  who  is  thirty-five  cannot 
expect  to  be  loved.  Oh,  if  I  were  only  sixteen 
again,  and  had  the  beauty  that  sells  so  dear  at  the 
Opera,  how  devoted  you  would  be  to  me.  Monsieur 
du  Bruel! 

"  '  I  have  a  sovereign  contempt  for  a  man  who 
boasts  of  loving  a  woman  and  yet  is  not  attentive 
to  her  little  wants.  Look  here,  Du  Bruel;  you  are 
mean  and  wretched,  and  you  like  to  torment  a 
woman  because  you  cannot  show  your  power  over 
anybody  else.  Napoleon  may  be  subject  to  his 
mistress,  and  he  loses  nothing  of  his  greatness;  but 
you  would  think  yourself  a  nobody  if  you  allowed 
yourself  to  be  ruled.  Thirty-five  years  old,  my 
dear,'  said  she,  turning  to  me  —  'that  is  the  key  to 
the  riddle. — You  see  he  will  not  give  in  yet.-^You 
know  that  I  am  really  thirty-seven;  and  I  am  very 
sorry,  but  you  must  tell  your  friends  that  you  will 
take  them  to  the  RocJier  de  Cancale.  I  could  give 
them  a  dinner,  but  I  don't  wish  to  do  so,  and  they 
must  not  come.  My  poor  little  soliloquy  will  impress 
upon  your  memory  the  salutary  precept  of  every- 
body's liberty  being  respected.    That  is  our  charter,* 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  403 

she  added,  with  a  smile,  and  a  return  to  the  gay  and 
capricious  manner  of  an  opera-dancer. 

"  'Very  well,  my  dear  little  pet,'  said  Du  Bruel; 
'there,  there;  don't  be  angry.  We  know  how  to 
get  on  together.' 

"  He  kissed  her  hand,  and  went  out  with  me  in  a 
fury.  This  is  what  he  said  to  me  as  we  walked 
from  the  Rue  de  la  Victoire  to  the  boulevard,  if 
there  be  expressions  which  can  be  printed  strong 
enough,  and  oaths  violent  enough  to  represent  the 
outrageous  words  and  malignant  thoughts  that 
streamed  from  his  mouth  as  a  waterfall  issues  from 
a  mighty  torrent: 

"  '  I  tell  you,  sir,  I  will  leave  that  low,  infamous 
dancer;  that  old  top  that  has  spun  under  the  whip 
of  all  the  operatic  airs  that  ever  were  made;  that 
vixen;  that  wanton  vagabond!  You,  too,  have  fallen 
in  love  with  an  actress;  but  never  take  it  into  your 
head  to  marry  your  mistress.  I  tell  you  it  is  a  pun- 
ishment that  Dante  forgot  to  put  in  his  hell!  I  will 
beat  her;  I  will  give  her  such  a  thrashing!  I  will 
tell  her  what  she  is.  She  is  the  poison  of  my  life; 
she  keeps  me  bobbing  like  a  jumping-jack.' 

"  He  had  reached  the  boulevard,  and  was  in  such 
a  state  of  wrath  that  the  words  stuck  in  his  throat. 

"  *  I  should  like  to  stamp  upon  her!' 

"'Why?'  I  asked. 

"  'My  dear  sir,  you  could  never  guess  the  thous- 
and myriad  whims  the  hussy  has!  When  I  want 
to  stay  at  home,  she  wants  to  go  out;  when  I 
want  to  go  out,  she  wants  me  to  stay  at  home.     She 


404  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

overwhelms  me  with  reasons,  reproaches,  argu- 
ments, invectives,  and  a  flood  of  words  fit  to  drive 
me  mad.  She  thinks  her  caprices  all  right  and  mine 
all  wrong.  I  may  cut  her  short  with  a  word,  and 
she  stops  and  looks  at  me  as  if  I  were  a  dead  dog. 
Any  peace  I  may  have  had  can  only  be  accounted 
for  by  my  absolute  servility,  and  by  my  fawning 
on  her  like  a  pet  spaniel.  She  asks  too  high  prices 
for  the  little  she  has  to  sell  me.  The  devil!  I  will 
leave  her  everything  and  go  and  bury  myself  in  an 
attic.  Oh!  for  an  attic  and  freedom!  It  is  five  years 
since  I  have  dared  to  have  my  own  way!* 

"  Instead  of  going  to  notify  his  friends  of  the 
change  of  plan,  Cursy  kept  striding  along  the  asphalt 
of  the  boulevard,  from  the  Rue  de  Richelieu  to 
the  Rue  du  Mont-Blanc,  giving  way  to  the  most 
furious  curses  and  ludicrous  exaggerations.  He  was, 
in  the  street,  a  victim  to  a  paroxysm  of  rage  that 
contrasted  strongly  with  the  calmness  of  his  manner 
at  home.  His  walk  gradually  soothed  the  irritation 
of  his  nerves  and  lulled  the  tempest  in  his  soul.  To- 
wards two  o'clock,  yielding  to  one  of  his  ungoverned 
impulses,  he  exclaimed:  'Those  damned  women 
don't  know  their  own  minds.  I  lay  my  head  to 
wager  that  if  I  go  home  and  tell  her  that  I  have  let 
my  friends  know  we  are  to  dine  at  the  Rocherde  Can- 
cale,  she  will  be  no  longer  pleased  with  her  own  ar- 
rangement. But,'  he  went  on,  'she  will  have  already 
decamped.  Perhaps  there  is  an  engagement  on  foot 
with  some  coxcomb  or  other.  No,  I  don't  think  so, 
for  she  really  loves  me  at  heart.* 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  405 

**Ah!  Madame,"  said  Nathan,  with  a  shrewd 
glance  at  the  marquise,  who  could  not  help  smiling, 
"women  and  prophets  alone  can  make  a  true  use  of 
faith." 

"  Du  Bruel,"  he  continued,  "  took  me  home  with 
him.  We  walked  slowly,  and  it  was  three  o'clock 
when  we  reached  there.  Before  we  went  upstairs 
he  noticed  that  somebody  was  stirring  in  the  kitchen; 
he  entered  it,  and  saw  preparations  there  that  made 
him  wink  at  me  as  he  questioned  the  cook. 

"  *  Madame  ordered  dinner,'  she  answered;  'after- 
wards she  dressed  and  called  a  carriage;  then  she 
changed  her  mind  and  sent  away  the  carriage,  order- 
ing it  to  come  back  in  time  for  the  play.' 

"'Well,'  cried  Du  Bruel,  'what  did  I  tell  you.?' 

"  We  entered  the  apartment  on  tip-toe.  There 
was  nobody  there.  We  passed  from  room  to  room, 
till  we  came  to  a  boudoir,  where  we  caught  Tullia 
weeping.  She  dried  her  tears  quite  openly,  saying 
to  Du  Bruel: 

"  '  Send  to  the  Rocher  de  Cancale  to  let  your  guests 
know  that  they  are  to  dine  here.' 

"  She  was  dressed  in  a  gown  which  no  actress 
could  have  invented:  elegant  and  harmonious  in 
color  and  shape,  simply  cut,  and  made  of  some  well- 
chosen  stuff  that  was  neither  too  expensive  nor  too 
common.  It  had  nothing  of  that  showy  exagger- 
ation that  fools  are  prone  to  call  artistic.  In  short, 
she  had  a  refined  air.  At  the  age  of  thirty-seven, 
Tullia  had  reached  the  most  attractive  phase  of  a 
Frenchwoman's  beauty.     The  admirable  oval  of  her 


406  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

face  was,  at  that  moment,  divinely  pale;  she  had 
taken  off  her  hat,  and  I  observed  the  light  down, 
like  the  bk)om  of  a  fruit,  that  softened  the  tender 
and  delicate  outlines  of  her  cheek.  Her  face,  framed 
in  its  braids  of  blond  hair,  had  a  melancholy  grace 
about  it.  Her  sparkling  gray  eyes  were  dimmed 
with  a  mist  of  tears.  I  read  some  violent  emotion 
in  the  quivering  nostrils  of  the  little  nose,  that  was 
beautiful  as  a  perfect  Roman  cameo;  in  the  slightly 
swollen  veins  of  her  long  and  queen-like  throat;  in 
the  small  mouth,  still  child-like  in  its  expression. 
The  momentary  reddening  of  her  chin  told  of  her 
secret  despair;  her  ears  burned  at  the  tips,  and  her 
gloved  hands  were  trembling.  The  nervous  con- 
traction of  her  eyebrows  betrayed  her  anguish. 
She  was  sublime.  Du  Bruel  was  crushed  by  her 
speech  to  him.  She  turned  on  us  the  piercing, 
inscrutable,  and  cat-like  gaze  that  none  but  women 
of  fashion  and  actresses  possess;  then  she  stretched 
out  her  hand  to  Du  Bruel. 

"'Poor  fellow!*  said  she;  'you  had  no  sooner 
gone  than  I  reproached  myself  a  thousand  times.  I 
accused  myself  of  base  ingratitude,  and  I  saw  how 
unkind  I  had  been. —  Was  I  very  wicked.?*  she 
asked,  turning  to  me. —  '  Why  should  I  not  receive 
your  friends?'  she  resumed.  'Are  you  not  in  your 
own  house.?  Should  you  like  to  know  the  secret  of 
all  this?  To  tell  the  truth,  I  was  afraid  that  you  did 
not  love  me.  I  was  wavering  between  repentance 
and  the  mortification  of  giving  in.  Then  I  read  the 
papers  and  saw  there  was  to  be  a  first  performance 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  407 

at  the  Varietes,  so  it  occurred  to  me  that  you  wanted 
to  entertain  a  colleague.  Left  to  myself,  I  was 
very  silly,  and  dressed,  so  that  I  might  go  after  you 
— poor  dear!' 

"  Du  Bruel  threw  me  a  victorious  glance;  he  had 
entirely  forgotten  his  harangue  against  Ttillia. 

'"Well,  my  angel,'  said  he,  *1  never  told  any- 
body of  the  change  of  plan.* 

" '  How  well  we  understand  each  other!'  she 
cried. 

"  As  she  was  uttering  these  gracious  words  I 
remarked  a  little  note  she  wore  tucked  in  her  belt; 
but  I  needed  no  such  token  to  satisfy  myself  that 
Tullia's  vagaries  were  occasioned  by  occult  causes. 
I  believe  that,  next  to  a  child,  a  woman  is  the  most 
logical  being  that  exists.  They  both  present  the 
sublime  phenomenon  of  the  constant  triumph  of  a 
single  idea.  A  child's  idea  changes  from  minute  to 
minute;  but  he  is  interested  solely  and  so  passion- 
ately in  that  one  idea  that  everybody  gives  way 
before  him,  fascinated  by  the  ingenuousness,  and 
persistence  of  his  desire.  A  woman  is  less  variable; 
to  call  her  capricious  is  an  ignorant  affront.  She 
always  acts  under  the  mastery  of  some  passion,  and 
it  is  wonderful  how  she  makes  of  that  passion  the 
centre  of  society  and  the  whole  universe. 

**  Tullia  exerted  her  fascinations  on  Du  Bruel,  and 
drew  him  into  her  toils;  the  sky  cleared,  and  the 
evening  was  delightful.  The  clever  playwright 
never  knew  the  secret  sorrow  that  lurked  in  his 
wife's  heart. 


408  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

"  '  My  dear  sir,*  he  said  to  me,  *  such  is  life:  con- 
tradictions, contrasts!' 

'"Especially  when  they  are  all  genuine,*  I  an- 
swered. 

*'  *  I  think  so,'  he  resumed.  *  I  should  die  of  dul- 
ness  without  some  violent  emotion.  Ah!  that  woman 
has  power  to  move  me!* 

"  After  dinner  we  went  to  the  Varietes;  but  before 
leaving,  I  slipped  into  Du  Bruel's  room  and  found 
on  a  shelf,  among  some  waste  papers,  a  number  of 
an  advertising-sheet  which  contained  the  announce- 
ment— required  for  paying  off  a  mortgage — of  the 
contract  for  the  house  Du  Bruel  had  bought.  A 
light  burst  upon  me  as  I  read  these  words:  '  At  the 
request  of  Jean- Francois  du  Bruel  and  of  Claudine 
Chaffaroux,  his  wife;'  I  understood  it  all.  I  gave 
Claudine  my  arm,  and  allowed  everybody  to  pass 
on  their  way  downstairs  before  us.  When  we  were 
alone  I  said: 

*"  If  I  were  La  Palferine,  1  should  always  keep 
my  appointments.* 

*'  She  placed  her  finger  gravely  on  her  lips,  and 
pressed  my  arm  as  we  went  down  together.  1  saw 
in  her  eyes  that  she  was  pleased  to  think  that  I 
knew  La  Palferine.  Can  you  guess  what  her  first 
idea  was?  She  wanted  to  make  a  spy  of  me;  but  I 
answered  her  with  a  repartee  from  Bohemia. 

"  A  month  later  I  happened  to  be  with  her  as  we 
were  coming  out  from  the  first  performance  of  one 
of  Du  Bruel's  plays;  it  was  raining,  and  I  ran  to  call 
a  cab.     We  had    lingered   a  few  minutes  at  the 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  409 

theatre,  and  there  were  no  more  carriages  to  be  had 
at  the  entrance.  Claudine  scolded  Du  Bruel;  and 
when  we  finally  rolled  off  in  a  carriage  on  our  way 
to  Florine — to  whose  house  she  was  taking  me — 
she  kept  up  the  quarrel,  and  rated  him  in  the  most, 
humiliating  terms. 

"  '  What  is  the  matter?'  I  asked. 

** '  My  dear  fellow,  she  is  finding  fault  with  me  for 
letting  you  run  after  the  cab,  and  makes  that  an 
excuse  for  wanting  to  set  up  a  carriage.* 

"  '  When  I  was  the  first  dancer  at  the  opera,*  said 
she,  *  my  feet  never  touched  anything  but  the 
boards.  If  you  had  the  slightest  feeling,  you  would 
write  four  plays  more  a  year.  You  would  be  sure 
of  their  success  if  you  thought  what  you  could  do 
with  the  proceeds,  and  that  your  wife  need  no  longer 
wade  through  the  mud.  It  is  a  shame  that  1  have 
to  ask  for  such  a  thing;  you  should  be  able  to  guess 
the  perpetual  annoyance  I  /lave  suffered  for  the  last 
five  years  that  I  have  been  married!' 

"  '  I  am  willing,*  answered  Du  Bruel,  *  but  we  shall 
be  ruined.' 

*"  If  you  get  into  debt,*  said  she,  'you  can  pay 
everything  with  my  uncle's  property.' 

"  *  It  would  be  like  you  to  leave  me  the  debts  and 
to  keep  the  property.* 

"  *  If  that  is  the  way  you  take  me,*  said  she,  '  I 
have  nothing  further  to  say.  Such  a  speech  from 
you  will  keep  my  mouth  shut.* 

**  Du  Bruel  immediately  launched  into  excuses 
and  professions  of  affection,   but  she  would  not 


4IO  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

answer  him.  She  let  him  take  her  hands,  but 
they  were  cold  as  a  dead  woman's.  Tullia  was  a 
proficient  in  playing  the  corpse-like  role  women  some- 
times assume  when  they  wish  to  prove  to  you  that 
they  will  never  consent  to  your  wishes,  that  they 
have  shut  you  out  from  their  soul,  heart,  and  life, 
and  think  themselves  treated  like  beasts  of  burden. 
No  policy  is  more  successful  in  wounding  a  loving 
heart;  but  a  woman  can  only  employ  it  against  a 
man  that  adores  her. 

"  *  Do  you  suppose,'  she  asked  me,  contempt- 
uously, '  that  a  count  would  have  offered  me  such 
an  insult,  even  if  it  came  into  his  head  to  do  so.? 
Unfortunately  for  me,  I  have  lived  with  dukes, 
ambassadors,  and  noblemen,  and  I  know  their  ways. 
That  makes  this  middle-class  life  intolerable  to  me! 
After  all,  a  playwright  cannot  be  like  Rastignac  or 
Rhetore — ' 

**  Du  Bruel  turned  pale.  Two  days  afterwards  he 
and  I  met  in  the  lobby  of  the  Opera;  we  strolled 
about  together,  and  fell  to  talking  of  Tullia. 

"  *  You  must  not  take  seriously  all  the  nonsense  I 
talked  on  the  boulevard,'  said  he;  'I  have  a  quick 
temper.* 

**  The  next  two  winters  I  went  often  to  Du  Bruel's 
house,  and  watched  Claudine's  tactics  with  particular 
attention.  She  had  a  well-appointed  carriage,  and 
Du  Bruel  threw  himself  into  politics.  She  made  him 
abjure  his  royalist  views;  he  recanted,  and  obtained 
a  position  in  the  administration  to  which  he  had 
formerly  belonged.     She  made  him  canvass  for  the 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  411 

votes  of  the  National  Guard,  and  he  was  elected 
chief  of  a  battalion.  He  behaved  with  so  much 
spirit  in  a  riot  that  he  rose  to  the  rank  of  an  officer 
in  the  Legion  of  Honor;  he  was  appointed  maitre  des 
requ^stSs  and  chief  of  a  division.  Tullia's  uncle — old 
Chaffaroux — died,  leaving  forty  thousand  francs  a 
year,  nearly  his  whole  fortune,  to  his  niece.  Du 
Bruel  was  made  deputy;  but  in  order  to  avoid  a 
re-election,  he  managed  first  to  get  himself  named 
Counselor  of  State  and  director.  He  republished 
his  treatises  on  archaeology,  his  works  on  statistics, 
and  two  political  pamphlets,  which  became  the  pre- 
text for  his  nomination  to  one  of  the  obliging  acad- 
emies of  the  Institute.  At  present  he  is  commander 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  and  has  been  so  actively 
engaged  in  the  intrigues  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
that  he  has  just  been  named  peer  of  France  and 
made  a  count.  He  has  not  ventured  as  yet  to  make 
use  of  his  title,  but  his  wife  puts  on  her  cards 
'Ui  Comtesse  du  Bmel.  The  former  playwright  has 
received  the  Order  of  Leopold,  the  Order  of  Isabelle, 
the  Cross  of  Saint-Wladimir,  of  the  Second  Class, 
the  Order  of  Civil  Merit  of  Bavaria,  the  Papal  Order 
of  the  Golden  Spur;  in  fact,  he  has  the  great  Cross 
and  all  the  lesser  ones  besides.  Three  months  ago 
Claudine  drove  up  to  La  Palferine's  door  in  her 
superb  carriage  emblazoned  with  armorial  bearings. 
Du  Bruel  is  the  grandson  of  a  farmer  of  the  revenue 
who  was  ennobled  toward  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Louis  XIV.;  his  coat  of  arms  has  been  composed  by 
Cherin,  and  the  count's  coronet  is  not  amiss  in  his 


412  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

insignia,  which  bear  no  trace  of  imperial  vulgarity. 
Thus,  in  three  years*  time,  Claudine  had  fulfilled 
the  conditions  of  the  programme  imposed  by  the  gay 
and  charming  La  Palferine.  One  day,  a  month 
later,  in  all  her  glory,  and  dressed  like  a  true  count- 
ess of  the  Faubourg  Saint-Germain,  she  climbed 
the  stairs  of  the  wretched  house  where  her  lover 
lodged.  When  she  reached  our  friend's  attic,  he 
said  to  her: 

**  *  I  know  that  you  have  been  made  a  peeress, 
but  it  is  too  late,  Claudine.  Everybody  tells  me  of 
the  Southern  Cross,  and  I  want  to  see  it.' 

"  *  I  will  get  it  for  you,*  said  she. 

**  La  Palferine  burst  into  a  Homeric  laugh. 

** '  1  am  sure  I  don't  want  a  mistress  who  is  stupid 
as  an  owl,  and  who  flaps  her  wings  from  the  green- 
room to  the  court.  I  should  rather  see  you  at  court 
without  a  title.* 

**  *  What  is  the  Southern  Cross  >'  she  asked  me, 
with  sad  humility. 

"  I  was  overcome  with  admiration  for  the  daunt- 
lessness  of  true  love,  that,  in  real  life,  no  less  than 
in  the  realms  of  an  artless  fairy-tale,  is  ready  to 
clamber  over  precipices  to  obtain  the  singing  flower 
or  the  roc's  egg.  I  explained  to  her  that  the  South- 
ern Cross  was  a  mass  of  nebulous  matter,  in  the 
shape  of  a  cross,  and  more  brilliant  than  the  Milky 
Way,  which  was  only  to  be  seen  from  the  southern 
seas. 

"*Very  well,  Charles,*  she  said  to  him,  Met  us 
go  there.' 


A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA  413 

**  In  spite  of  his  cruel  disposition,  La  Palferine's 
eyes  filled  with  tears ;  but  how  touching  were  the 
look  and  accent  of  Claudine  !  I  never  knew  any- 
thing that  could  be  compared  to  her  behavior,  in 
the  most  remarkable  performances  of  the  great 
actors  I  have  seen.  As  she  caught  sight  of  La 
Palferine's  eyes,  usually  so  inexorable,  but  now 
filled  with  tears,  she  fell  upon  her  knees  and  kissed 
the  hand  of  her  merciless  lover.  He  raised  her 
and  assuming  his  grand  manner,  that  he  called  the 
manner  of  the  Rusticoli,  he  said  to  her  : 

**  •  Come,  my  dear,  I  will  do  something  for  you. 
I  will  put  you  in — my  will!  *  " 

"  Now,"  said  Nathan  to  Madame  de  Rochefide,  in 
conclusion,  "  I  cannot  make  out  whether  Du  Bruel 
is  deceived  or  not.  There  can  certainly  be  nothing 
droller  or  stranger  than  to  see  a  reckless  young  man 
controlling  a  house  and  family.  His  slightest  caprices 
rule  the  household,  and  countermand  its  most  serious 
resolutions.  You  may  be  sure  that  the  circumstance 
of  the  dinner  has  been  repeated  a  thousand  times, 
and  in  concerns  of  a  far  more  important  nature.  Yet, 
without  his  wife's  whims,  Du  Bruel  would  still  be  De 
Cursy,  one  among  five  hundred  other  playwrights; 
whereas  he  is  now  in  the  Chamber  of  Peers — " 

"You  will  change  the  names,  I  hope,"  said 
Nathan  to  Madame  de  la  Baudraye. 

"  1  should  think  so!  I  gave  the  characters  names 
for  you  only.  My  dear  Nathan,"  whispered  she  in 
the  poet's  ear,  "  I  know  another  family  in  which 
the  wife  acts  the  part  of  Du  Bruel." 


414  A  PRINCE  OF  BOHEMIA 

"  And  what  is  the  catastrophe?  "asked  Lousteau, 
who  came  in  just  as  Madame  de  la  Baudraye  was 
finishing  her  story. 

"  I  do  not  believe  in  catastrophes,"  said  Madame 
de  la  Baudraye,  "though  it  is  sometimes  necessary 
to  invent  them  to  prove  that  art  is  strong  as  chance; 
but,  my  dear  friend,  we  only  read  a  story  on  account 
of  its  details." 

"  Still,  there  is  a  catastrophe,"  said  Nathan. 

"What  is  it?  "  asked  Madame  de  la  Baudraye. 

**  The  Marquise  de  Rochefide  is  fascinated  with 
Charles-Edouard.  My  tale  has  aroused  her  curi- 
osity." 

"Oh,  poor  thing!  how  unlucky!  "  cried  Madame 
de  la  Baudraye. 

"  No,  not  so  unlucky,"  said  Nathan,  "  for  Maxime 
de  Trailles  and  La  Palferine  have  made  the  marquis 
quarrel  with  Madame  Schontz,  and  are  going  to 
reconcile  Arthur  and  Beatrix." — See  Beatrix. 

1839-1845. 


GAUDISSART 


TO  MADAME  LA  PRINCESSE  CRISTINA  DE  BELGIOJOSO 
NiE  TRiyULCE 


GAUDISSART  II. 


To  know  how  to  sell,  to  be  able  to  sell,  and  to 

sell!  The  public  is  not  aware  how  much  Paris  owes 
its  greatness  to  these  three  phases  of  the  same 
question.  The  display  at  the  stores  as  rich  as  the 
salons  of  the  nobility  before  1789,  the  splendor  of 
the  cafes,  which  often  surpasses,  easily,  those  of  the 
new  Versailles;  the  poems  in  display,  destroyed 
each  evening  and  reconstructed  each  morning;  the 
elegance  and  grace  of  the  young  men  when  talking 
with  the  purchasers,  the  piquant  faces  and  the 
toilets  of  the  young  girls  who  endeavor  to  attract  the 
shoppers,  and  lastly,  in  more  recent  times,  the 
recesses,  the  immense  spaces  and  Babylonian 
luxury  of  the  passages  where  the  merchants  bring 
together  their  speciaiti  .?s,  all  this  is  nothing — it  still 
remains  to  please  the  most  greedy  and  blase  organ 
of  man  since  Roman  days — the  requirements  of 
which  has  developed  beyond  all  bounds,  thanks  to 
the  most  refined  civilization.  This  organ  is  the  eye 
of  the  Parisian! — This  eye  sees  fireworks  which  cost 
a  hundred  thousand  francs,  palaces  five-eighths  of  a 
mile  in  length  by  a  height  of  sixty  feet,  in  many  colored 
glasses,  fairylands  at  fourteen  theatres  every  even- 
ing, renewed  panoramas,  continual  expositions  of 
master-pieces,  people  both  sad  and  gay  promenading 
U19) 


420  GAUDISSART  11. 

on  the  boulevards  or  going  to  and  fro  in  the  streets, 
encyclopedias  of  carnival  rags,  twenty  illustrated 
works  a  year,  a  thousand  caricatures,  ten  thousand 
pictures,  lithographs  and  engravings.  This  eye  sees 
by  fifteen  thousand  francs*  worth  of  gas  every 
evening;  and  lastly,  to  satisfy  it,  the  city  of  Paris 
expends  annually  some  millions  in  observatories  and 
cultivated  spaces.  And  this  is  not  enough! — this  is 
only  one  side  of  the  question.  This  is  yet,  we 
believe,  little  in  comparison  to  the  intelligence,  and 
diplomacy  worthy  of  Moli^re,  employed  by  the 
sixty  thousand  clerks  and  forty  thousand  young 
women  who  beset  the  shoppers'  purse,  as  myriads 
of  whitebait  would  seize  upon  pieces  of  bread  float- 
ing on  the  waters  of  the  Seine. 

Gaudissart  at  his  place  of  business  is  at  least  equal 
in  capacity,  intellect,  wit  and  philosophy  to  the 
illustrious  traveling  salesman  who  has  become  the 
type  of  his  class.  Away  from  his  store  he  is  like  a 
balloon  without  gas;  and  only  owes  his  greatness  to 
his  surroundings,  the  same  as  an  actor  who  is  only 
sublime  in  his  theatre.  Although  compared  with 
other  merchant  clerks  of  Europe,  the  French  sales- 
man is  better  instructed,  as  it  is  necessary  for  him  to 
speak  about  asphalt,  the  ball  Mabille,  the  polka, 
literature,  the  most  noted  books,  railways,  politics, 
the  news  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  Revolu- 
tions. He  is  so  much  confused  when  he  leaves  his 
springing-board,  his  yard-stick  and  his  trade  and  his 
politeness  to  order;  but,  there,  governed  by  the  rigid 
rules  of  the  store,  he  talks  glibly  with  an  eye  to 


GAUDISSART  11.  42I 

business,  and,  with  the  shawl  in  his  hand,  he  eclipses 
the  great  Talleyrand;  he  has  more  wit  than 
Desaugiers,  more  finesse  than  Cleopatra,  equals 
Monrose,  and  outdoes  Moli^re.  At  home  Talleyrand 
would  have  played  Gaudissart,  but  in  his  shop, 
Gaudissart  would  have  played  Talleyrand. 

Let  us  explain  this  paradox  by  an  instance: 

Two  pretty  duchesses  chatted  at  the  side  of  an 
illustrious  prince;  they  wished  a  bracelet.  They 
awaited  a  clerk,  with  bracelets,  from  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  jewelers  of  Paris.  He  arrives  bring- 
ing three  marvelous  samples;  in  comparing  them 
the  two  women  hesitated  to  choose!  It  is  the  flash 
of  intelligence.  Hesitate — you  are  lost.  Taste  has 
not  two  inspirations.  Finally,  after  ten  minutes, 
the  prince  is  consulted;  he  sees  the  two  duchesses 
struggling  with  a  thousand  uncertainties  between 
the  two  finest  of  these,  because  at  the  outset  one 
had  been  laid  aside.  The  prince,  without  ceasing  his 
reading,  does  not  look  at  the  bracelet;  he  examines 
the  clerk. 

"  Which  would  you  choose  for  your  sweetheart?" 
he  asks. 

The  young  man  points  to  one  of  the  jewels. 

"In  that  case  take  the  other;  you  will  gain  the 
good-will  of  two  women,"  said  the  most  finished  of 
modern  diplomats;  "and,  young  man,  give  it  in  my 
name  to  your  happy  sweetheart." 

The  two  pretty  ladies  smiled  and  the  clerk  retired, 
as  much  flattered  by  the  present  the  prince  had 
given  him  as  by  the  good  opinion  he  has  of  him. 


423  GAUDISSART  II. 

A  woman  descends  from  a  handsome  equipage, 
which  stops  at  the  Rue  Vivienne,  before  one  of 
those  sumptuous  stores  where  shawls  are  sold;  she 
is  accompanied  by  another  woman.  There  are 
usually  two  together  on  these  expeditions.  Almost 
always,  as  in  this  instance,  they  walk  through  ten 
stores  before  buying,  and  amuse  themselves,  when 
going  from  one  to  another,  with  the  efforts  of  the 
clerks.  Let  us  find  out  which  is  the  smarter,  the 
buyer  or  the  seller?  which  of  the  two  comes  out 
the  better  in  this  farce? 

When  an  attempt  is  made  to  depict  the  greatest 
triumph  of  Parisian  trade,  the  sale!  it  is  necessary 
to  give  an  example  to  illustrate  the  subject.  Now 
in  this  case  the  shawl  or  chatelaine  worth  three  thou- 
sand francs  would  cause  more  excitement  than  the 
price  of  batiste,  or  the  dress  worth  three  hundred 
francs.  But,  oh,  strangers  to  both  sides!  however 
much  you  may  believe  of  this  statement,  know  that 
this  scene  is  enacted  in  the  fashionable  stores  for 
barege  at  two  francs  as  well  as  for  muslin  at  four 
francs  a  yard! 

1  Princesses  and  ordinary  people,  how  can  you  dis- 
trust this  fine  young  man,  with  cheeks  like  velvet 
and  the  color  of  a  peach,  two  honest  eyes,  and  who 
is  nearly  as  well  dressed  as  your — your  cousin, 
and  endowed  with  a  voice  as  soft  as  the  fleecy 
wool  he  shows  you?  There  are  three  or  four  like 
him.  One,  with  black  eyes,  says  to  you:  "See 
there!"  with  an  imperial  air.  The  other  has  timid 
and  submissive  blue  eyes  which  make  you  say  to 


GAUDISSART  II.  423 

yourself:  "  Poor  fellow!  he  is  not  born  for  busi- 
ness."— A  third  has  light  chestnut  hair,  a  yellow, 
laughing  eye,  pleasant  manners,  is  gifted  with 
activity  and  southern  jollity.  A  fourth,  with  a  fawn- 
colored,  fan-shaped  beard,  is  stiff  as  a  communist, 
severe,  imposing,  with  a  frightful  cravat,  and  of  few 
words. 

These  different  kinds  of  clerks,  who  respond  to 
the  principal  characters  of  women,  are  the  strength 
of  their  employer,  a  large,  good-natured,  generous 
person,  whose  forehead  runs  far  back,  and  who  has 
a  paunch  like  a  ministerial  delegate,  and  is  some- 
times decorated  with  the  badge  of  the  Legion  of  Honor 
received  for  maintaining  the  supremacy  of  French 
trade,  who  presents  an  outline  of  pleasing  round- 
ness, has  a  wife,  children,  a  house  in  the  country 
and  a  bank  account.  This  personage  descends  in 
the  workshop  as  the  Deus  ex  machina,  when  any 
disturbances  need  to  be  adjusted.  Thus  the  women 
are  surrounded  by  good  nature,  youth,  graciousness, 
smiles,  pleasantries,  all  that  civilization  can  offer 
the  most  simple,  the  most  specious,  and  all  arranged 
by  delicate  gradations  suiting  every  taste. 

A  word  about  the  physical  effects  of  optics,  of 
architecture,  of  decoration;  a  brief  word,  decisive, 
terrible;  a  word  which  has  made  for  itself  a  place  in 
history.  The  book  within  which  you  read  this 
instructive  page  is  sold  at  No.  76  in  the  Rue  de 
Richelieu,  in  an  elegant  shop,  white  and  gold,  hung 
with  red  velvet,  and  which  has  a  room  in  the  entresol 
where  the  broad  daylight  comes  in  through  Rue 


424  GAUDISSART  II. 

de  Menars,  as  it  would  in  a  studio,  clear,  pure  and 
unobstructed,  always  the  same.  What  passer-by  has 
not  admired  le  Persan,  that  King  of  Asia,  which  is 
situated  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  de  la  Bourse  and 
Rue  de  Richelieu,  charged  with  saying  urbi  etorbi: 
"I  reign  more  tranquilly  here  than  at  Lahore." 
During  five  hundred  years  this  carving  at  the 
corner  of  these  two  streets  might  have  occupied 
archaeologists  without  this  immortal  analysis,  in 
making  illustrated  quarto  volumes  about  it,  like  those 
by  Monsieur  Quatrem^re  on  the  Olympian  Jupiter, 
which  would  show  that  Napoleon  had  been  a  small 
personage  in  some  country  of  the  East  before  being 
Emperor  of  the  French.  Be  that  as  it  may,  this 
elegant  store  laid  siege  to  this  poor  little  entresol 
and  by  force  of  bank  notes  become  possessed  of  it. 
La  COMEDIE  HUMAlNE  has  yielded  the  place  to  the 
Comedie  of  Cashmeres.  Le  Persan  has  sacrificed 
some  diamonds  from  his  crown  to  obtain  all  this 
necessary  light.  This  ray  of  sunlight  increases  the 
sales  a  hundred  per  cent,  because  of  its  effect  on 
colors;  its  brings  in  relief  all  the  beauties  of  the 
shawls,  this  bewitching  light,  this  golden  ray!  By 
this  fact,  judge  of  the  attention  given  to  arranging 
the  stores  of  Paris! — 

Let  us  return  to  these  young  people,  to  this 
decorated  quadragenarian,  entertained  at  the  table 
of  the  King  of  France,  to  this  head-clerk  with  the 
reddish  beard,  with  the  aristocratic  air.  These 
accomplished  Gaudissarts  deal  with  a  thousand 
caprices  a  week,  they  know  all  the  vibrations  of  the 


GAUDISSART  II.  425 

purse-strings  in  the  hearts  of  women.  When  a 
lorette,  a  quiet  lady,  a  young  matron,  a  fashionable 
woman,  a  duchess,  a  middle-class  person,  a  boldfaced 
dancer,  a  pure  young  girl,  or  a  very  innocent  stranger 
appears,  each  is  immediately  analyzed  by  these 
aeven  or  eight  men  who  have  studied  them  from 
the  moment  of  their  entrance,  and  who  station  them- 
selves at  the  windows,  at  the  counter,  at  the  door, 
at  a  corner,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  store,  with  a 
holiday  air,  as  if  contemplating  a  free-and-easy  Sun- 
day: which  makes  one  ask  one's  self,  "  Of  what 
are  they  thinking?"  A  woman's  purse,  her  wishes, 
her  intentions,  her  fancies  are  better  found  out  there 
in  one  moment  than  the  custom-house  officers  could 
search  a  suspected  coach  on  the  frontier  in  seven 
quarters  of  an  hour.  These  intelligent  dogs  play 
seriously  the  staid  old  man,  having  seen  everything 
in  detail;  the  almost  invisible  imprint  of  a  muddy 
boot,  the  least  shabbiness,  a  mussed  or  badly  chosen 
hat  ribbon,  the  cut  and  fashion  of  a  dress,  the  new- 
ness of  the  gloves,  a  dress  cut  by  the  skilful  scissors 
of  Victorine  IV.,  the  jewel  of  Froment-Meurice,  the 
fashionable  trinket,  and  finally  all  that  goes  to  show 
in  a  woman,  her  station,  her  fortune,  and  her  char- 
acter. Tremble,  then!  Never  has  this  sanhedrim 
of  Gaudissarts,  directed  by  its  employer,  been  mis- 
taken. Then  the  thoughts  of  each  are  transmitted 
by  glances  from  one  to  the  other  with  the  quickness 
of  the  telegraph,  by  means  of  a  nervous  twitching, 
smiles,  movements  of  the  lips,  which,  observing,  you 
would  say  that  their  thoughts  lighted  up  the  clerk's 


426  GAUDISSART    11. 

eyes,  like  the  sudden  lighting  of  the  Champs-Elysees, 
where  the  gas  flies  from  candelabra  to  candelabra. 

And,  if  it  is  an  English  lady,  immediately  the 
solemn,  mysterious  and  unlucky  salesman  advances, 
like  one  of  Lord  Byron's  romantic  characters. 

If  it  is  a  middle-class  person,  the  most  experienced 
clerk  is  sent  to  her;  he  shows  her  a  hundred  shawls 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  bewilders  her  with  the 
colors  and  designs;  he  unfolds  as  many  shawls  as 
a  hawk  makes  curves  before  descending  upon  a 
rabbit;  and  at  the  end  of  half  an  hour  she  is  so 
troubled  that  she  does  not  know  what  to  choose, 
and  the  worthy  bourgeoise,  humored  in  all  her 
fancies,  refers  to  the  clerk,  who  places  her  on  the 
horns  of  the  dilemma  by  the  equal  beauties  of  two 
shawls. 

"  This  one,  madame,  is  very  fine;  it  is  apple- 
green,  the  fashionable  color,  but  the  fashion  changes; 
so  much  so  that  this  one — the  black  and  white  which 
is  in  great  demand — will  last  you  much  longer,  and 
it  will  go  with  all  toilets." 

This  is  the  A  B  C  oi  the  profession. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  believe  how  much  elo- 
quence is  necessary  in  this  wretched  business. 
Finally  the  chief  salesman  of  the  establishment  said, 
while  speaking  with  two  of  his  friends,  Duronceret 
and  Bixiou,  who  had  come  to  have  him  select  a 
shawl  for  them,  '*  Stay,  you  are  discreet  artists; 
you  can  cater  to  the  tastes  of  our  employer,  who 
certainly  is  the  most  difficult  man  to  please  whom  I 
have  seen.    I  do  not  speak  as  a  merchant.   Monsieur 


GAUDISSART  II.  427 

Fritot  is  the  first;  for,  as  a  dealer,  he  has  in- 
vented the  Selim  shawl,  a  shawl  impossible  to  sell, 
and  which  we  always  dispose  of.  We  keep  in  a 
cedar-wood  box  loosely,  but  folded  in  satin,  a  shawl 
of  five  or  six  hundred  francs,  a  shawl  sent  by 
Selim  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  This  shawl  is  our 
treasure,  we  show  it  as  a  last  resort:  if  it  sells  there 
are  yet  more.*' 

At  this  moment  an  English  lady  descends  from 
her  cab  and  appears  in  all  the  stolidity  peculiar  to 
England  and  to  anything  from  there  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  alive.  She  looked  like  the  statue  of  a 
commander  walking  by  sudden  lurches. 

"The  Englishwoman,"  he  whispered  to  Bixiou. 
"  This  is  our  Battle  of  Waterloo.  We  have  women 
who  slip  through  our  fingers  like  eels,  and  who, 
having  got  as  far  as  the  stairs,  are  persuaded  to 
return;  the  dashing  women  who  joke  with  us,  one 
laughs  at  them  and  takes  them  on  credit;  indescrib- 
able strangers  who  have  shawls  sent  to  their  houses 
and  whom  it  is  necessary  to  flatter.  But  the 
English!  It  is  like  attacking  the  bronze  statue  of 
Louis  XIV.  These  women  make  shopping  an  occu- 
pation and  take  pleasure  in  bargaining.  They 
make  us  alert! " 

The  romantic  clerk  comes  forward. 

"  Does  madame  wish  an  Indian  or  French  shawl; 
high-priced  or — ?  " 

"I  will  see." 

**  What  amount  does  madame  wish  to  spend?  " 

"  I  will  see." 


428  GAUDISSART    IF. 

Returning  to  get  the  shawls  and  lay  them  on  a 
rail,  the  clerk  throws  a  glance  to  his  colleagues, 
signifying  "What  a  bore!"  accompanied  by  an  im- 
perceptible movement  of  the  shoulders. 

"  These  are  our  best  quality  in  Indian  red,  in  blue 
and  in  orange;  all  are  ten  thousand  francs.  These  are 
five  thousand,  and  those  others  three  thousand." 

The  Englishwoman,  in  a  gloomily  indifferent 
manner,  gazes  at  first  all  around  her  before  looking 
at  the  three  specimens  exhibited,  without  giving  the 
slightest  sign  of  approval  or  disapproval. 

"Have  you  others?"  she  asked. 

"Yes,  madame.  But  perhaps  madame  has  not 
decided  to  buy  a  shawl  to-day?" 

"Fully  decided." 

And  the  clerk  departs  to  find  shawls  of  less  price; 
but  he  shows  them  solemnly  as  things  of  which  one 
seems  to  say:  "  Look  at  these  magnificent  crea- 
tions!" 

"  These  are  much  dearer,"  said  he;  "  they  have 
not  been  used;  they  have  come  by  couriers,  and 
bought  directly  from  the  makers  at  Lahore." 

"Oh!  I  understand,"  she  said;  "they  suit  me 
very  much  better." 

The  clerk  remained  serious,  notwithstanding  his 
interior  irritation,  which  prepossessed  Duronceret 
and  Bixiou.  The  Englishwoman,  always  cool  as 
water-cress,  seemed  happy  in  her  stolidity. 

"How  much  is  it?"  she  asked,  showing  a  shawl 
of  heavenly  blue,  covered  with  birds  nestling  in  the 
pagodas. 


GAUDISSART  11.  429 

**  Seven  thousand  francs." 

She  took  the  shawl  and  put  it  around  her,  and 
looking  in  the  glass  said,  in  returning  it: 

"  No,  I  do  not  like  it." 

Fully  a  quarter  of  an  hour  passed  in  these  fruit- 
less efforts. 

"We  have  nothing  more,  madame,"  said  the 
clerk,  looking  at  his  employer. 

"Madame,  like  all  persons  of  taste,  is  difficult  to 
please,"  said  the  head  of  the  establishment  advanc- 
ing with  all  the  graces  of  the  shopkeeper,  and 
agreeable  mixture  of  pretentiousness  and  coaxing. 

The  Englishwoman  surveyed  him,  through  her 
glass,  from  head  to  foot,  without  wishing  to  see  that 
this  man  was  an  eligible  person  and  dined  at  the 
Tuileries. 

"There  is  yet  one  shawl,  but  I  never  show  it," 
he  said;  "  no  one  has  found  it  to  her  taste;  it  is  very 
odd;  and  this  morning,  1  thought  of  giving  it  to  my 
wife:  we  have  had  it  since  1805;  it  belonged  to  the 
Empress  Josephine." 

"  Let  us  see  it,  sir." 

"Get  it!"  said  the  employer  to  a  clerk;  "it  is 
at  my  house."  — 

"  I  should  be  very  much  better  satisfied  to  see  it," 
replied  the  Englishwoman.  This  reply  was  a  tri- 
umph, because  this  exasperating  woman  seemed  on 
the  point  of  going.  She  appeared  not  to  see  the 
shawls,  she  was  so  occupied  looking  at  the  clerks 
and  the  two  buyers  hypocritically,  while  shading  her 
eyes  with  the  handle  of  her  eye-glass. 


430  GAUDISSART  II. 

•*  It   cost    sixty    thousand    francs   in    Turkey, 
madame," 
"Oh!" 

"  It  is  one  of  seven  shawls  sent  by  Selim,  before 
his  disasters,  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  The 
Empress  Josephine,  a  Creole,  who,  as  my  lady  knows, 
was  very  capricious,  exchanged  it  for  one  brought 
over  by  the  Turkish  ambassador  and  which  my 
predecessor  had  bought;  but  I  have  never  found 
anyone  willing  to  give  its  price;  because,  in  France, 
our  ladies  are  not  rich  enough;  it  is  not  here  as  it  is 
in  England.  This  shawl  is  worth  seven  thousand 
francs,  which  really  represents  fourteen  or  fifteen 
compound  interest." — 

**  Compounded  of  what?'*  said  the  English- 
woman. 

— "  Here  it  is,  madame." 

And  the  shopkeeper,  having  taken  those  precau- 
tions which  the  leaders  of  the  Green  Vaults  of  Dresden 
would  have  admired,  opened  with  a  very  small  key 
a  box  of  carved  cedar-wood,  the  effect  of  which 
produced  a  deep  impression  on  the  Englishwoman. 
From  this  box,  lined  with  black  satin,  he  brought  out 
a  shawl  worth  about  fifteen  hundred  francs,  of  a 
golden  yellow  with  black  figures,  whose  splendor 
could  only  be  surpassed  by  the  eccentricity  of  the 
Indian  invention. 

"Splendid!"  cried  the  Englishwoman;  "it  is 
indeed  beautiful. — This  is  my  ideal  shawl !  it  is  very 
magnificent — " 

The  rest  was  lost  in  a  Madonna-like  pose  which 


GAUDISSART  II.  43 1 

she  took  in  order  to  show  her  cold  eyes,  which  she 
considered  handsome. 

"  The  Emperor  Napoleon  liked  it  very  much;  he 
used  it—" 

"Very  well,"  she  replied. 

She  took  the  shawl,  wrapped  it  around  her  and! 
examined  herself.  The  owner  took  the  shawl,  and 
seeing  at  last  light  through  this  problem,  the  hobby, 
made  it  show  to  good  advantage;  he  played  with  it 
as  Liszt  played  the  piano. 

"  This  is  very  fine,  beautiful,  sweet!"  said  the 
Englishwoman,  with  a  perfectly  tranquil  air. 

Duronceret,  Bixiou,  and  the  clerks  exchanged 
looks  of  delight  which  signified: 

"The  shawl  is  sold." 

"Well,  madame?"  asked  the  merchant,  seeing  the 
Englishwoman  absorbed  in  lengthy  contemplation. 

"I  prefer  a  carriage,"  she  said,  on  thinking  it 
over. 

The  silent  and  attentive  clerks  started  as  if 
touched  by  electricity. 

"I  have  a  very  beautiful  one,  madame,"  quietly 
replied  the  shopkeeper,  "which  came  to  me  from  a. 
Russian  Princess,  the  Princess  Narzicof,  who  left  it 
with  me  in  payment  for  furniture;  if  madame  cares 
to  see  it,  she  will  be  surprised:  it  is  new,  having 
only  been  put  away  ten  days,  and  it  has  not  its 
equal  in  Paris." 

The  amazement  of  the  clerks  was  only  held  in 
check  by  their  admiration. 

"  I  would  much  like  to  see  it,"  she  replied. 


432  GAUDISSART  11. 

"If  madame  would  keep  the  shawl  on,"  said 
the  shopkeeper,  "she  can  see  the  effect  in  the 
carriage." 

He  then  took  his  gloves  and  his  hat.  **  How  will 
it  end?" — said  the  chief  clerk,  seeing  his  employer 
offering  his  hand  to  the  Englishwoman  and  going 
away  with  her  in  the  cab. 

This  savored  of  a  romantic  finish  to  Duronceret 
and  Bixiou,  beyond  the  interest  attached  to  all  con- 
tests, even  small  ones,  between  England  and  France. 

Twenty  minutes  later  the  employer  returned. 

"Go  to  the  H6tel  Lawson,  here  is  the  card: 
'Mrs.  Noswell.'  Carry  this  bill  I  will  give  to  you, 
and  receive  six  thousand  francs." 

"And  how  have  you  done  it?"  said  Duronceret, 
saluting  this  king  of  invoices. 

"Eh!  sir,  I  have  seen  this  kind  of  eccentric 
woman;  she  likes  to  be  remarked:  when  she  saw 
everyone  looking  at  her  shawl,  she  said  to  me, 
*  upon  reflection,  keep  your  carriage,  sir;  I  take  the 
shawl.'  " 

"While  Monsieur  Bigorneau,"  said  he,  pointing  to 
the  romantic  clerk,  "  was  showing  her  the  shawls,  I 
studied  my  customer;  she  was  much  more  interested 
in  discerning  your  opinion  of  her.  She  thought 
more  of  you  than  of  the  shawls.  The  Englishwoman 
has  a  particular  distaste  —  because  it  cannot  be 
called  taste  —  in  not  knowing  what  she  wants 
and  is  determined  to  buy  as  soon  as  she  finds  a 
bargain.  I  have  known  such  women  to  tire  of  their 
husbands,   their  children,   sadly  conscientious,  in 


GAL'DISSART  11.  433 

search  of  sensations,  and  always  posing  as  weeping 
willows.''* — 

That  is  literally  what  the  chief  of  the  establish- 
ment said. 

This  proves  that  a  shopkeeper  in  other  countries 
is  not  so  much  of  a  shopkeeper  as  in  France,  and 
above  all  in  Paris;  he  is  a  man  from  the  royal 
college,  educated,  loving  the  arts,  or  fishing,  or  the 
theatre,  or  filled  with  the  desire  to  be  the  successor 
to  Monsieur  Cunin-Gridaine,  or  colonel  of  the 
National  Guard,  or  member  of  the  Council  General 
of  the  Seine,  or  president  of  the  Tribune  of  Com- 
merce. 

"  Monsieur  Adolphe,"  said  the  wife  of  the  manu- 
facturer to  his  little  blond  clerk,  "  go  order  a  box  of 
cedar- wood  at  the  toy  makers — " 

"And,"  said  the  clerk  while  escorting  out  Du- 
ronceret  and  Bixiou,  who  had  chosen  a  shawl  for 
Madame  Schontz,  "  we  will  go  to  see  among  our  old 
shawls  one  which  will  take  the  place  of  the  shawl 
of  Selim." 

Paris,  November,  1844. 


3  /<p5 


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